Hit the Road
by BeWitchingRedhead36
Summary: The continuation (sequel) to One for the Road. Mac and Dick are now dating. It's spring semester of their sophomore year at Hearst. This is MaDi, but it's also very much a LoVe story too. It starts off with MaDi and LoVe on a road trip for spring break but will continue on towards the end of spring semester. I've decided to change the rating to T. I may rate an individual chapter M
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is my continuation to One for the Road. In this story, MaDi are an established couple, as are LoVe of course. It takes place during Spring semester of their sophomore year at Hearst. This is billed as MaDi, but it's also very much a LoVe story too. The story starts off for the first several chapters as a road trip story but it continues on after they get back from their Spring Break trip. The first 5 chapters or so are mainly fluff, but there's a little bit of drama after that, then I'll end it with more fluff. I Promise!  
**_

_**If you haven't already read One for the Road, I recommend doing that first. Things will make a little bit more sense if you do. (Okay, I admit it, that was my shameless plug for my other chapter story within this after 3rd season world)  
**_

_**Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Veronica Mars, Halo 3, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Phineas & Ferb or anything else Pop Culture-esque mentioned within...**_

**Chapter 1—****Leaving Neptune**

Mac was beating Dick at _Halo 3_ by a very narrow margin when the slamming of the door made her lose her concentration and Dick lobbed a grenade at her onscreen avatar.

"Gotcha, Macster!" Dick gloated. He laughed as Mac gave him a less than polite finger gesture. "Sore loser."

"Hi honey, we're home," Logan announced as he and Ronnie entered the living area of the penthouse suite of the Neptune Grand that he and Dick still shared.

"Is it safe? Remember last time we did this? My eyeballs are still recovering. The nightmares have started subsiding though." Veronica snarked to Logan.

"Yes, sugarpuss. Your innocence can remain intact. Little Dick is properly holstered."

"I call Bullshit, man. How many times did I walk in on you guys? Five zillion, I think. I can't count that high."

"You can barely count to 500 there, Dickie," Veronica said.

"So Bond, you packed yet? What all are you bringing?" Mac asked, changing the subject.

"Aw, girl talk, Dick. Let's see, I'm bringing my best pair of shoes. The wingtips. My button down sweater, a windbreaker," Logan said.

"Dude, Mr. Rogers called, he wants his wardrobe back."

"Actually Q, I did pack a little black dress. I was thinking we need to go out somewhere nice at least one night. Even if it's just the hotel restaurant."

"Good idea, Bond. I was thinking the same thing myself. I still have that dress I borrowed from Parker several months back. I'm bringing it with me." It was the black satin dress that she'd worn on her first date with Dick back in October.

"You little thief. I'm glad you stole it though. I still have fantasies of you in that dress. Or more accurately, I have fantasies of me ripping it off of you."

"Stop! My virgin ears." Veronica yelled, lobbing Dick with a pillow.

"I'm not stealing it, Dick. Actually, I tried to give it back after our date and she said I looked so good in it, that I could keep it."

"I didn't think there was any virginal piece of you left, Ronnie. Can I get in on the wardrobe talk? Logan, I'm bringing my favorite tee shirt. The one that says _Freelance Gynecologist_. My blood finally came out of it."

It was the shirt that Mac had used to staunch his blood when a gunman had broke into the suite last semester after a case V and Mac had been working on went awry. It was a brown shirt, and the blood really hadn't been visible anyway, but Dick still couldn't get over the idea that his precious shirt might be stained.

"I hate to interrupt all this girly talk about clothes and Dick's slutty fantasies, but I'm starving here," Veronica said. "You guys up for Luigi's?"

"We could order in," Logan said.

"I'm with the pixie spy, let's go out," Dick seconded.

"Luigi's. Sorry Logan, you're outvoted," Mac said.

Twenty minutes later the 2 couples walked into the popular Italian restaurant in downtown Neptune.

"Welcome to Luigi's. Your usual table?" The bubbly redheaded hostess greeted them. She smiled at all of them, but her gaze seemed to linger longer on Dick. That didn't go unnoticed by Mac, though she didn't comment.

"Thanks Meredith. Yes, the usual table." Dick replied. They followed her to a 4 top by the window. Veronica and Mac took the inside seats closest to the street facing window while Logan and Dick took the chairs next to their respective girlfriends.

Once they had placed their orders with the waiter the talk turned to their Spring Break road trip. The plan was to leave at 10 AM the next day.

"Any idea how long it takes to get to Reno?" Dick asked.

"It's 600 miles or so," Logan said. "So I guess almost 9 hours."

"That's an easy drive," Dick said.

"Yes, it is. But getting there is half the fun. I say we break into 2 days at least, stop and see sights along the way. We can check some of those roadside attractions, like the biggest ball of yarn." Veronica said. "Don't you agree, Mac? Mac? Macster. Earth to Macattack."

"What?" Mac turned her head back to the table. She had been focusing her gaze on a table on the other side of the room.

"I said, I think we should take our time driving up to Lake Tahoe. See the sights along the way. Hey. Are you okay?"

"Sure, why not. Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about stuff. No big deal. Oh, and it's the worlds largest ball of twine and it's in Kansas, not California. And yes, I've been there. Mackenzie family road trip. I'll be right back guys."

"Where ya going, Mackie?"

"The restroom. That work for you, Dickie?"

"Dropping the kids off at the pool?"

"Gross," Veronica chastised as Logan gave Dick a high five.

"No, not that that's anyone's business." Mac punched his arm before rising from her chair.

Upon seeing the pointed look Dick threw her way, Veronica immediately jumped up to follow her to the ladies room.

Mac heard someone enter the restroom right behind her. She turned around and saw V.

"Q! Fancy meeting you here."

"Bond, we must stop meeting like this," Mac replied walking into the middle stall.

"Well, we're girls. Aren't we supposed to go to the restroom in packs?" Veronica took the stall on Mac's left.

"Is that in the rulebook? I lost my copy."

"Maybe Dick has one you could borrow."

"Funny."

"I thought so. What's up?"

"I just had an ex sighting. Max is here. Didn't you see him come in?"

"No! The nerve of that little fucker coming here." Veronica paused as Mac flushed. "His hooker ex girlfriend, current girlfriend, whatever she is, wasn't with him, right?"

"No. V, calm down. It's no big deal. We broke up almost a year ago now."

"I know. You're not still attracted to him are you?" Veronica shouted to be heard over the running water as she flushed. She came out of the stall and joined Mac at the sink. "Because I'm not really seeing the problem."

"Hell no. I..." Mac waited a second, gathering her thoughts. Then began again. "I'm probably being paranoid, after what went down last semester. But he was just staring at me. It was creepy."

Right after the fall semester of their Sophomore year began Mac was hit crossing the street in front of Mars Investigations. The driver took off without stopping. The perp ended up being a guy she and Veronica had been investigating. What had started out as a basic cheating boyfriend case quickly morphed into an embezzling case, where Kane Software had been bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. As a result of the hit and run, Mac had ended up with a concussion, cracked rib and dislocated knee. She was as surprised as anyone though when Dick took an interest in her recovery.

"I can acquaint him with Mr. Sparky if you want. I've always wanted them to meet."

"Ah, no, thanks V. That's okay. But let's keep this little chat between us."

"Of course. And for what's it's worth, I think you've earned that little bit of paranoia. But Max is a dweeb. A harmless, wimpy little dweeb."

"That's true."

"But you can always make out with Dick at the table. You know, really throw Max off his game. Show him you're not available any more."

Mac laughed. "I thought PDA was more your and Logan's thing."

"Ms. Mackenzie, perhaps you're the one who needs to get acquainted with Mr. Sparky."

"Aw, you love my sparkling wit, otherwise you wouldn't keep me around. That and my computer mojo."

"Perhaps you speak truth, Q. Perhaps. Let's get back to our guys. I shudder to think of the hi jinx those 2 are plotting."

All fears were assuaged though when Mac and Veronica returned to find Logan and Dick deep in conversation about the road trip. They were going to spend a couple of days in Reno, their hotel had a casino on site. Then they were going to spend a day or so near Area 51, Logan's contribution to their itinerary. Finally, they'd spend 1 night camping on the way back to Neptune. Dick had lobbied hard for that, and finally in a bid to get him to shut up everyone agreed one night at a campground wouldn't be that bad.

Not long after the girls returned from the restroom their dinner arrived.

Logan and Veronica both had lasagna, Dick had Veal Marsala, and Mac had garlic sauteed spinach and a salad.

"I have some news," Veronica said, pausing in her enthusiastic eating of the lasagna. "Dad proposed to Alicia last weekend. I don't know when they're getting married, but I think it'll be in a couple of months. Neither of them want to wait that long. I guess dad is afraid she'll wise up."

"I bet Keith knocked her up." Dick suggested earning a glare from Ronnie and Mac. Logan, on the other hand, just smirked.

"That's great, V" Mac said. "Tell your dad and Alicia congrats."

"Hey, that means you and Wallace will be brother and sister now."

"Yes, good deduction Dick. And dad says we can get bunk beds now, too."

"So, when is this triple date going to happen?"

"The 15th of not in this lifetime, Mac."

"Oh come on, Logan. You had so much fun the last time you guys doubled with Mr. Mars and Alicia."

"So much fun it took me many months of recovery."

"I don't think the nightmares ever fully went away," Veronica interjected.

They finished their dinners and Veronica ordered Tiramisu, and everyone else just ordered coffee.

As they left the restaurant a short time later, they had to pass by Max's table.

"Mac, hey," Max said quietly, reaching out to grab her arm as she passed by. Dick was in front of her laughing at something Logan said, and didn't see Max grab his girlfriend.

"What?" Mac asked, sighing as she extricated herself from his grasp. She motioned to Dick to keep going after he'd noticed she was no longer behind him. Dick gave her a _what the hell_ gesture but followed Logan and Veronica out of the restaurant and on to the sidewalk. He parked himself by the window and pretended he wasn't watching Mac. She saw Veronica sidle up to Dick, doing an even more obvious job of spying on her.

"I just wanted to see how you are. I still miss you. I wanted you to know I've changed. I'm in school again. Just 2 classes this semester, but it's a start. I've also quit the exam business."

"You were expelled."

"Well, it took a little convincing and perhaps a missing record or three, but the new interim dean agreed to reinstate me."

"Changed, huh? Really?!"

"Baby steps."

"I'm seeing someone now."

"I got that. I noticed you and that dumb toolbag you always hated."

"Dick. His name is Dick. And I don't hate him anymore. He's changed a lot, too."

"Anyway, sorry to interrupt your date. I just wanted to say you were right. I was wasting my potential. So, ah, thank you for the wake up call."

"You're welcome. It was nice seeing you? I've got to go, everyone's waiting for me. Take care."

"Bye, Mac."

Mac left the restaurant and joined her friends outside.

"Well?" Dick asked.

"Remember Max? He grabbed me as I was leaving. I had to say hi to him."

"Where was his ex-pro girlfriend?"

"I didn't ask and he didn't say."

Fifteen minutes later the 2 couples were back the Neptune Grand. Dick had stopped at the front desk to pick up the mail. In the elevator ride up he had quickly scanned the letter that had been addressed to him. Guilt! He crumpled it up into a ball. _Lies_, he thought to himself, _just a guilt trip and lies_.

Once back in the suite Mac and Veronica immediately flopped on the big leather couch, while Logan and Dick made a beeline for the bar. Dick threw the letter out in the trash can and then set to work making drinks for himself and Mackie. He went over to the couch with 2 rum and cokes, handing the one with more coke and less rum to Mac before settling in beside her. Logan soon joined them on the couch cuddling up beside Ronnie. He kept the beer for himself, handing her a soda can. Since they were going in her Saturn SUV, she was taking the first driving shift.

Mac got up to put _Pretty in Pink _in the DVD player, then sat back down. Dick opened his mouth to complain but quickly shut it upon seeing Mac's glare. Logan noticed the whole exchange.

"Dude, you are so whipped." Logan smirked, making a whipping noise. "Mac's got you by your ball sac."

Dick reached around Mac and shoved Logan's head.

"Ouch, dude. What the hell?"

Mac quickly ducked as Logan reached back to punch Dick.

"You almost smacked the shit out of Mackie."

"Not who I was trying to smack the shit out of, Dick. What the hell is your problem. I'm just sitting here, minding my own business."

"You know what Logan, sometimes a random ass-kicking's a good thing. Keeps everyone else in line."

Mac went over to the far end of the couch where Veronica had settled on after the guy's started sparring. It was far enough removed from the action but still provided a good view of the movie. Duckie had just gotten shoved into the girls' restroom.

"This he-man macho crap doesn't bother you, V?"

"I say they get it out of their system now, because we're going to be cooped up in a small space together for a week."

"That's true. If they don't get all this aggression out now though, they're both riding on the roof."

"It's a plan!" V clanked her can against Mac's glass.

Just as quickly as the guys started scrapping they both settled down. Dick mumbled an apology to Logan who muttered that it was okay. Then they both sheepishly sat down next to their respective girlfriends.

Mac rebuffed Dick's attempt to cuddle with her though, which did nothing to improve his grumpy mood. And his mood got even worse with each additional drink. Finally after his 4th drink Mac not so gently shoved Dick towards the bedroom. She said good night to V and Logan who were both giving her inquiring looks, but Mac just shrugged. She didn't know what was up with him either. It seemed more than just jealousy, after all things with her and Max had been over for several months before they got together. Plus it wasn't like Max had ever been the great love of her life.

Anyway, with the many moods of Dick Casablancas, sometimes Mac thought he was the girl in their relationship. Maybe it was his male time of the month. She believed in the existence of male PMS, hell, he could be the poster boy for it.

Dick was stretched out on his massive king bed, his arms locked behind his head. He was trying to look nonchalant, though imagined he was failing massively at it. He knew he was in the shitter with Mackie, but no one could put him the shitty ass mood like Dick Sr. The asshole.

Mac let the door slam behind her. "What is your deal, Dick? You're one bitchy little boy tonight. You were fine at the restaurant. What changed between now and then? Max?!"

"Who? Oh, the dork at the restaurant? No. That little dweeb barely registers."

"Then what is it?"

"I'll show you." Dick got up from the bed and went back out to the living room. He averted his eyes so he wouldn't see Ronnie straddling Logan. He cleared his throat. "Don't stop on my account." He laughed when Logan muttered something that resembled no worries. But it was hard to talk with your girlfriend's tongue down your throat. Dick was pretty sure he wasn't getting any tonight, so at least Logan seemed to be having better luck.

In the trash can tucked in next to the suite's kitchenette was a crumbled up letter. Dick bent over and retrieved it. As he walked back into his bedroom he smoothed it out. Silently he handed it to Mackie, who was now in the boy shorts and oversized tee shirt ensemble she slept in.

Mac quickly skimmed it over. When she was done, she just reached over and hugged Dick who had joined her in the bed. "Oh, babe."

"Yeah. I stopped to get the mail from the front desk, and a letter from one of California's finest country club prisons awaited me. Dear old dad has a zillion excuses for being a shitty dad and why I have no excuse for being a neglectful son who won't come see him."

Mac started to say something, anything really to deflect some of the damage the senior Dick caused to his namesake. But Dick stopped her.

"It would be a shame to waste my buzz on talking about feelings and shit."

So instead they just cuddled, drifting off to sleep.

After pushing the snooze button 3 times the next morning, both Mac and Dick fell back asleep. It was well after 11 before they both walked out of the bedroom.

"Morning sunshine," Veronica said too cheerfully from the couch where she was tucked under a blanket eating cereal and watching _Phineas and Ferb_ on TV. "Make that morning sunshines, plural."

"Frakin morning people," Mac mumbled as Dick grumbled something even more unintelligible. He stumbled into the kitchenette to grab some Advil and some Gatorade to wash it down with. Mac sat down beside V. "So I guess we missed our planned departure time of 10 AM."

"Looks like it. Plus, sleeping beauty was snoring soundly last time I check in on him. Maybe Dick can save him a little of the magic hang over cure."

"I think after their little testosterone fueled display last night Dick will share his toys, like a good little boy."

"Or they're both riding on the roof."

"That's the plan!"

Dick came over and sat down on the couch next to the girls. He handed a couple Advil and the Gatorade bottle to Mac, who gratefully partook of Dick and Logan's trademarked hangover cure. She handed the drink back to him, and he quickly chugged the rest of the contents.

"Hey, Dick, before you get too comfy there, I brought over a bag of my homemade vegan blueberry muffins. I stashed them by the microwave. If you could get it and bring it over here that would be great. Thanks!"

"Get it yourself. I'm not your bitch." Dick smirked until he saw the look both Mackie and Ronnie gave him. "Um, on second thought, I am your bitch. And I live to serve." He got up to retrieve the muffins and missed the triumphant look on his girlfriend's face and the thumb's up V gave her in return.

Just then Logan shuffled in, his hair disheveled. He just grinned at Dick and gave him a grin and made a whipping sound effect.

Less than fifteen minutes later all the bags were packed up and they all loaded into the Saturn. Veronica took her place behind the wheel.

They followed the PCH north, leaving Neptune behind.

_**TBC...**_

_**Like it? Love it? Hate it? I'd love it if you'd leave a review. I'll have chapter 2 up early next week. Thank you for reading!  
**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter. I had to use the first chapter to set up some future plot-type things but this one is definitely mostly fluffy, fun MaDi/LoVe stuff. If you don't like reading sex scenes be warned there are 2 brief, but slightly smutty scenes in here, one LoVe, and one MaDi. If you've read my stories before you probably know I love writing MaDi sex scenes, but this was my first attempt at writing LoVe in bed, having fun. But it won't be my last sexy scene for them. This chapter was a big reason for my rating this fic M.  
**_

_**Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Veronica Mars, Wheel of Fortune, giant clam statues (though that might look good in my living room), and other pop culture references mentioned herein.  
**_

_**Chapter 2—Giant Clams and roadside motels**_

After a couple of hours on the road everyone was more than ready to take a break and get something to eat. Mac's blueberry muffins had long since been devoured, even by Logan. He had once said a needle in his eye would be preferable to eating vegan "baked goods." Dick had sworn there really wasn't any difference between vegan and regular muffins and he'd be a convert after 1 bite. While Logan claimed afterward that he wasn't a convert, he still deigned to eat 4, and didn't say another word about needles and eyes, at least not in the same sentence.

Veronica pulled off the the highway, into a small coastal town. Mac was happy to discover there were no fast food joints within the city limits. Really the only part she truly enjoyed about the Mackenzie family biannual rite of torture camping trip was her dad's habit of stopping at local diners or greasy spoons en route to whatever camp ground they were headed towards. Her dad had instilled in her the desire to support mom and pop type establishments over big business box stores. She suspected her dad's family owned business patronage had everything to do with his short tenure as owner of Fun Time Motors, the company he still worked for as a salesman. Her dad had started the company in 1992 after receiving a million dollar settlement from Neptune Memorial Hospital after they'd sent her and Madison Sinclair home with the wrong families. Yes, baby switching did actually happen and Mac was living proof of that.

Veronica parked the SUV in a spot along the town's main street, aptly named Main Street. A couple doors down was a little cafe called Sprouts.

They settled into a booth by the window, watching the traffic snake by.

Mac opened the menu and grinned. "What a great place! Everything sounds so good."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. I can't eat anything here." Dick complained.

"It is _possible_ to build a satisfying meal without any meat, you know."

"For you, maybe."

"For me, definitely."

Veronica and Logan exchanged amused glances listening to their friends' conversation. This Dick, the one who was dating her best friend, was so much more tolerable. Sometimes lately she found herself almost liking Dick. She said a silent prayer her feelings of goodwill would survive this vacation.

The waiter came by and took their order.

"Hey V, you mentioned something last night about stopping along the way to see some of those kitschy roadside attractions. You still want to do that?"

"Of course. But my ball of yarn dreams were viciously crushed."

"Well, I think we're going close to Pismo Beach and I remember that for some reason they have these giant clam statues around town. My mom took a family picture in front of one of the clams back in junior high."

"Let me guess, another camping trip?" Logan interjected.

"Of course, we Mackenzies travel in style. Anyway, would clams make up for the trauma of missing giant balls of string?"

"Well, it might ease the sting a little bit."

"Mackie, where can I get a copy of that picture? I need it for my bedroom. My girlfriend posing in front of a giant clam. Now that's a money shot."

Mac just rolled her eyes while Logan laughed and even V cracked a smile. Fortunately, before Dick could come up with any more clam jokes the waiter came by with their food.

Nobody said much as they ate. Afterward though Mac started teasing Dick about his earlier comment, since his plate was all but licked clean. He admitted reluctantly that his spicy black bean burger wasn't too bad, but still insisted it didn't meet the definition of a burger. A burger was only a burger if it had meat. Logan agreed with Dick, and V was neutral on the whole subject.

Soon they were back on the road. As they left southern California behind, the towns started getting further apart. About an hour later they stopped for gas and to change drivers. After the tank was full again, Logan got behind the wheel. Mac felt her eyes getting heavy, soon she was fast asleep, her head on Dick. Not long after that he, too, was asleep.

Veronica and Logan argued over who got to choose the next CD.

"It's my car, so naturally I choose the music."

"Hate to break it to you Sugarpuss, but the driver chooses the play list. Otherwise it could create dangerous driving conditions."

"More dangerous than the conditions typically caused by your driving skills?" Veronica smirked.

"We'll see tonight how much you complain of my _driving_ skills."

"You've been hanging out too much with your BFF there, his talents of making everything a double entendre has been rubbing off on you."

"Maybe he learned it from watching me."

"I do think we should stop overnight however. Maybe somewhere near Pismo?"

"Works for me. So giant clams?"

"Why not."

That launched the conversation in a whole new direction. Soon Veronica and Logan were discussing all forms of crustaceans. Logan reminded her of his allergy to shell fish. She assured him she didn't forget, she wasn't Aaron, not that he needed the reminder of that.

"Dude, think there will be pearls in the giant Pismo clams?"

"Oh Dick, you're awake." Logan said.

"Well, you guys kept talking and it triggered some crazy ass dream. There was a singing clam and it was just plain freaking me out."

"Only you, Casablancas."

"Hey sweetie, typically it's oysters that make pearls, not clams," Mac said over a yawn. She stretched her arms. "And these are just statues, not real clams. So, where are we, anyway?"

"About 15 miles outside Pismo, I guess."

The car got quiet as everyone just stared out the window at the winding countryside. Before long, they saw the _**Welcome to Pismo Beach **_sign.

"So where's this giant clam?"

"I don't know. We may have to dig a little, Dick."

"Groan, Q. I haven't had enough to drink to handle any more puns."

"Are you spiking your soda there, Bond? Starting the party early?"

"No, and that's the problem."

"Guys, look up ahead. I see some giant rock thing. Could that be one of the famous clam statues?" Logan asked.

"Oh yeah, it is! Cool."

"Okay, Sugarpuss, you happy now? Does this cure your trauma at missing the ball of string?"

"Thanks guys, I'm feeling better now. Not every day a gal from Neptune gets to see the famous clams of Pismo. Maybe we can get a picture? Something to memorialize this epic road trip."

"This is in a tricky area, Ronnie. Let's keep driving. See if we can find any more."

Before long they saw another clam in front of the Welcome Center. It proudly advertised the town's annual Clam Festival. Veronica got out her Pentax and took several pictures of Logan, Dick and Mac in various poses with the clam. And of course most of the shots were a bit on the dirty side, mainly from Dick and Logan's influence but Mac got in a few dirty clam gestures too. Then Mac took the camera from V and took several of her and Logan too. Just when they were just finishing up the photo shoot a woman who worked at the visitor's center came out and offered to take a few pictures of the 4 of them together.

She got several good ones of them petting the clam, acting like they were showcasing the clam, and even one where Dick scaled to the top and sat down, letting his long legs dangle. Mac wasn't entirely sure how he managed it, but she wasn't dumb enough to try herself.

After their clam photo shoot and a brief walking tour of Pismo Beach they piled back into the SUV and continued north. Veronica once again got behind the wheel.

They'd originally planned to try to find a hotel near San Jose, but only 45 minutes outside Pismo Mac spotted a sign for a hotel called the White House Inn.

"Hey V, I found it. I found our digs for the night. Get off on the next exit, please."

"Wow, sounds fancy. Can we stay in the oval office suite?"

"Bet it's more like a Bates fleabag motel," Logan said cynically.

"Probably. But I think anyone named Casablancas should stay there."

"In a fleabag motel, Mackie. Really?"

"Isn't that the English translation of your name?"

"Yes. White house."

"Well, it's a sign then."

"A sign of what? An impending apocalypse?"

"Of what I don't know. But it's a sign. And as for an impending apocalypse, well I don't think that's supposed to happen for another 4 years or so. December 21, 2012, I believe."

"Alright, Macster. You've made a solid case, we can stay there for the night. If we get bedbugs though I'm holding you responsible," V said smiling. She put on her turn signal and followed the exit ramp.

The White House Inn was 2 miles on the right, and just as Logan and Dick had predicted, it was considerably less grandiose than the name suggested. It was a horseshoe shaped white clapboard building with black shutters, but otherwise it didn't bare any resemblance to the more fancy residence that was its namesake.

A man in his mid-50s with graying hair and stooped posture came out of the office, and stood by the door watching them pull into a parking spot.

"Norman, is that you?" Logan said.

"Shhh, behave Logan," Veronica reprimanded, though her scolding didn't carry much weight because of her laughter.

They piled out of the car and followed the strange man into the office.

"We'd like 2 rooms for the night," Veronica said.

"Let me see what we have available," the man said. He went around to the other side of his desk and typed a few commands onto his ancient computer.

Mac mentally rolled her eyes, thinking of what all she could do to carry the White House Inn into the modern era. That system was a dinosaur, a relic of the Jurassic period by her techie standards.

"You're in luck, girly," the man said a couple minutes later. "I have two rooms side by side. Both are queen beds, non-smoking. There's a connecting door inside. It's $52 per room, per night."

Dick and Logan both whipped out their Am-Ex gold cards and put them in the man's outstretched hand.

"I'm sorry, we don't partner with American Express," the man said. "Visa, MasterCard, or Discover." He handed back their cards and patiently waited for a new form of payment.

Mac snickered when it was obvious that neither Logan nor Dick had other credit cards so she handed her Visa card to the guy. Veronica whispered in her ear that she'd pay her back for the room later.

After processing the payment and handing back the credit card, the man gave them the keys to rooms 32 and 33 respectively.

They headed back to Veronica's car to grab their bags. The rooms were only 5 doors down from the office so there wasn't a need to re-park the car. It was like the manager didn't trust them not to have a wild party. As if that was a likely contingency in the tiny community that was home to The White House Inn.

"This place really is from the Jurassic Age," Mac commented quietly. "I'd heard that a long time ago, in the dark ages of the 70s and 80s and even earlier they used to have actual keys to unlock hotel doors instead of key cards but I'd never witnessed it myself. And what is with that computer? Geez. I'd love to get my hands on his network, bring him up to this century. Wonder what he'd pay for that?"

"Aw, that's my Q. Ever the savvy business woman."

"I was proud of you back there, Ronnie," Logan said, wrapping his arm around her. "You didn't tase the guy when he called you girly."

"I noticed that too," Dick added. "I kept expecting you to whip it out."

"Oh Dick, you know I save that special honor just for you. Didn't want to waste it. I never know when I might need it. Like say on a long road trip with you. You piss me off one too many times, and voilà 300,000 volts surging through you, problem solved. You shut up, I get a little peace. Win win."

"Mackie, you gonna defend my honor?"

"Not really. You know Logan and I are Switzerland when it comes to you two."

"Well guys, here we are. Hotel sweet hotel. At least this place looks better than The Camelot," Logan said as he opened the door to room 33. "Or not," he exclaimed as he and Veronica walked inside. He shut the door behind them.

Mac and Dick walked a few feet more stopping at room 32. With a flourish, Dick put the key in the lock and opened the door to their home for the night. Orange shag carpet greeted them. The bed had a brown comforter, and the walls were wood paneled. There was a "painting" of the ocean over the battered desk. The painting was reminiscent of art that pretty much adorned every other cheap hotel Mac had ever stayed in on one of her family's myriad trips across the US. There had to be a store that hotel owners everywhere bought their furnishings and artwork, something no self respecting kleptomaniac would be tempted to steal.

"Well, the Neptune Grand it's not," Mac finally exclaimed timidly stepping inside. "But it is shelter. I understand now why the locks haven't been changed since the 70s. The furniture evidently hasn't either."

"It's not like there's anything here worth stealing. Anyway, next time Logan and I choose the hotel."

"I thought you guys already did. We do have reservations for Reno and Rachel, Nevada. Right?"

"Yes, it's all set. You'll love the hotel we chose for the Area 51 adventure. Let's say, it's like camping Mackenzie style, only more retro." Dick placed his big blue suitcase on top of the luggage rack, claiming it for his own. Then he removed the comforter on the bed so he could stretch out on the bed without the fear of bio contamination.

"Now I'm the scared one."

"I promise, you'll love it. It's a little weird, but you're weird so it's your kind of place."

"Not sure about your logic there, Dickie. And why the Frak does everyone call me weird?" Mac placed her overnight bag on the luggage rack on top of Dick's suitcase. Then she stretched out beside Dick on the bed.

"Because you are. It's not a bad thing."

"So not helping. Remember my date to the Alterna-Prom?"

"Butters? That dude that was depantsed? He was so weird. I forgot you went with him. Cassidy was in such a pissy mood that night. Stayed home and moped."

"Well at least my date wasn't a pig. Literally." Mac teased. She noticed that Dick was able to casually bring up Cassidy. He still didn't open up much about him, but he was dealing with his grief a lot better since the incident during his inaugural Mackenzie biannual rite of torture.

"Don't dis the party pig."

"Well Butters blackmailed V into setting me up as his prom date. His whole reasoning? I was weird just like him so we would mesh perfectly."

"Butters was just weird weird. You, my Ghostworld, are cool weird. You make weird cool. Take your pick. Want to make out?"

"I'm the weird one? You call me weird and then want to make out with me."

"Foreplay. I'm just being romantic here." Dick leaned in and started kissing Mac. She leaned in, running her fingers through his blond hair. His hands found her breasts and he gently played with her nipples, a technique that got her libido going every time. The jiggling of the door handle of the inside connector door didn't register. But Veronica's screech did.

"I'd say get a room, but I guess technically you already did. But have some respect for your travel mates who like to enter hotel rooms uninvited. My recovery has just been set back. Logan, are my eyes burning? Will you check?" Veronica snarked, when her power of speech returned.

"Oh, if it isn't the pixie spy showcasing her criminal talents by picking our lock," Dick replied after reluctantly pulling away from Mackie. "We'll finish this later," he whispered to his bed mate.

"PI talents, actually."

"Same difference."

"Not really. One you need a license for."

"So what color is your shag, Logan?" Mac asked.

"Brown. Same as my hair color. I thought you women shared every intimate detail."

"Um, dear, I think she meant our carpet."

"I got that, sugarpuss. Brown."

"No, the room carpet." Mac clarified squinting her eyes against the mental picture of Logan naked.

"Blue shag." Veronica answered.

"Classy digs you girls picked out here."

"I just told Mackie here she and Ronnie are done picking out our overnight accommodations."

"Well, we just came in to see what you guys wanted to do for dinner. We're hungry, and by that I mean Ronnie is hungry. We were thinking we could get a couple pizzas and bring them back to the room."

"Sounds good. You could have actually text us though. You didn't have to go all voyeur."

"Now you tell me, Dick. I didn't get your ESP message. Plus, where was the towel on the door knob?"

"Hey, how about you guys go get the pizzas. Mac-attack and I will stay here. Sound good? Think you boys can handle that?" Veronica went back to the room to get her car keys. Upon her return she handed them to Logan. "Sausage and mushroom for me. Some veggie combo no cheese for Mac."

"Yes, I think we can manage, Sugarpuss. Dick and I are pretty well trained when it comes to fetching food for you lovely ladies."

The guys left to go get dinner, laughing and joking as they went. Veronica settled down on the bed next to Mac. She picked up the remote on the bedside table and started flipping through the channels.

"Want to watch a movie on pay per view?"

"Sure."

Both girls poured through the limited selection available. They chose _Alien Vs Predator: Requiem. _

As the previews flashed by, Mac turned to Veronica. "Hey Bond, do you have any cases you need help on?"

"Not really. Tell you what though, come by Dad's office when we get back and I'll pour over some files and see what I can come up with. Maybe there's some filing you can help with. Why?"

"The funds are sort of drying up."

"What about the hot ass website?"

"Well, it's still making money, but not nearly as much as it had been. I'm not destitute, I won't have to table dance and show my _tatas_ or anything like that."

"Somehow I think Dick would prefer you become a stripper before going back to work on cases with me."

"I have those scholarships and everything, so paying for school is not a problem. I just want to have a little extra spending money. Dick wants to pay for everything, and I mostly let him but it's nice to be solvent on my own. You know?"

"Uh yeah, I'm in your club too. Another 02'er trying to keep up with a rich 09'er."

"Dick probably wouldn't like the idea of me working with you again, but he'll deal with it."

"I don't blame him for not liking the idea. I let you get hurt."

"Nobody let me do anything. Geez. For the one billionth time, the only one to blame for my _not-so-accident_ accident was Leon Smith. And he will be going away for a very very long time. Any news on the trial by the way?"

"Cliff told my dad it was scheduled for the end of April. Someone from the prosecutors office should be contacting you soon."

"Yikes! That's what, about 6 weeks away?"

"Something like that."

"I didn't think cases ever went to trial this quick."

"It does when the money stolen belongs to a Kane. In Neptune, money talks."

"Everything comes back to the Kanes in Neptune."

"You don't know the half of it, Mac-attack."

The conversation quieted down once the movie started. Even though it didn't get the best of reviews both Q and Bond were enjoying it. About forty-five minutes later the guys came back with the pizza and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

"Oh good, giving the fake ID some exercise before Reno." Veronica said, smiling when she saw the wine.

Mac rewound the movie to the beginning and everyone lazed on the bed eating pizza and drinking wine.

Veronica mock glared at Dick when she saw him rubbing Mac's back after all the pizzas had been eaten. Then she smiled softly. Though Dick still tried her patience at times she had to admit since he'd wised up and started dating her Mac-attack, the desire to push Dick in front of a moving train was become less and less frequent. Okay, it was never a fast moving train or anything, nothing that would kill him of course, just do a little damage. Just something to knock him on his ass. Mac was so good for him. And she grudgingly admitted he was pretty good for her, too. They balanced each other out. Mac was still the winner in that coupling, in her opinion, but Dick was starting to show a couple good points himself. Dick could still be a dick, she wouldn't expect anything less of him, of course, but he was nothing if not loyal to those he cared about. Not the worst trait someone could have, in Veronica's point of view. Ah, she really was a marshmallow, even where Dick Casablancas was concerned, evidently.

"Well, this isn't the worst way to spend the first night of our vacation," Logan pointed out. "But wait until Monday night. Let's have a gourmet meal, then cap off the night with some gambling and debauchery."

"I'm in man. Though who says the debauchery has to wait til Monday," Dick inquired, looking suggestively at Mac.

"Gross! So not an image I needed." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Keep your debauchery to yourself."

As the credits rolled Veronica found herself starting to drift off to sleep. She looked to her left and saw Macster was about to fall asleep too. She and Logan said goodnight and headed back to their own room.

_*****Room 33*****_

"So, what was up Dick's ass last night?" Veronica loudly inquired to Logan as she slipped her black silk nightshirt over her head. She just grinned when she saw his look of open admiration. She paid it back with interest when Logan removed his own shirt and jeans. He liked to sleep in the nude, she liked him sleeping that way, too. Suddenly the sleep that had about overtook her during the end of the movie was replaced with the desire for a more aerobic activity.

"Dick? What? Oh, yeah, last night. He got a letter from Dick Senior. No big deal. I don't really want to talk about that right now. I have a totally different dick in mind right now. And an ideal location for him to go clam digging."

"That's the best you've got? Really baby? That's how you talk dirty?" Veronica shed the nightshirt she'd just put on, and pushed Logan back onto the bed. She straddled him, holding his hands down and plunged her tongue down into his mouth, tasting and teasing. She felt Logan instantly getting hard. "Come on, baby! Make me purr."

Logan freed his hands and flipped her over. "Bobcat, you are my Bobcat." He groaned. Veronica turned around and raised up on her knees. Logan entered her from behind, plunging deep inside her.

They did it doggie style for a few frenetic moments until Veronica briefly broke contact so she could flip back around on her back. She didn't want to miss seeing Logan come. She locked into his soulful eyes as he re-entered. Veronica was hot, moist and he moaned, marveling at how every time he entered her it felt like coming home.

Veronica wasn't one to close her eyes during sex, no, she liked to see every expression that crossed Logan's face. Anyone that said he was closed book just didn't look hard enough, didn't care enough to read him. He bit his lip and grimaced slightly, the look she loved, told her he was about to come. She felt herself on the precipice too and followed it, screaming as she came.

Logan rolled off Veronica and positioned himself so she was on the inside. He kissed her shoulder and whispered goodnight. Soon they were both snoring.

_*****Room 32*****_

The door banged closed behind Logan and Veronica as they went back to their own room after the pizza and movie.

"What did you think of the movie, Dick?"

"It had Aliens. You can never go wrong with Aliens. Who picked it?"

"Both V and I together. That was my thought process, too. You really can't go wrong with an alien movie." Mac went over to her bag to retrieve her usual night time attire but Dick grabbed both pieces out of her hand and threw them over his shoulder.

"Hey."

"No clothes allowed in our bed. If I'm sleeping nude, you have to, too." He smirked.

"Just sleeping?"

"Well, not just sleeping. It would be a shame to waste our naked-ness."

"Yes, waste is bad. Now shut up." Mac pushed the now naked Dick down on to the bed and straddled him.

She placed his hands up over his head and pushed down essentially locking them into that position. She scooted a little so she was right over his fully erect penis, but didn't enter him. Mac leaned down and kissed him briefly on the lips then bit his shoulder before finally allowing him entrance. Dick groaned and slipped his hands out of Mac's tight grip. Once they were free he lifted one up to caress her nipple, and used the other to explore her clit. She moaned loudly and hoped V couldn't hear through the thin walls. That pushed her over the edge and she felt the climax building and moaned one more time. Then Dick came just after. She rolled off of him and they fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning Dick awoke to Logan and Veronica banging on the connector door.

"What?" A disheveled Dick asked opening the door. He was loosely covered by the sheet he'd grabbed on the way to answer the door.

"Good morning to you too sunshine," Veronica greeted him, smiling. "Time to get up. Check out is in 15 minutes."

"We'll meet you in the office in 10," Mac assured her.

Dick shut the door.

In exactly 10 minutes they joined Logan and Veronica in the shabby office. Mac signed the paperwork and handed over the room keys.

While the guys were loading up the Saturn, Veronica and Mac hung out by the motel sign.

"We should get a group shot. Maybe make a scrapbook or something," Veronica suggested.

"Do you have Martha Stewart on speed dial?"

"Okay, well not a paper scrapbook I guess. Oh shut up. Just pose for me."

Mac gestured to the sign, she tried to vamp it up a little but even teasing around for V that just wasn't her thing, she was too self conscious. She was grateful when Dick and Logan came up too. The guys stood on either side of her, with Dick doing his best _Wheel of Fortune_, Vanna White impression, throwing his arm out with a flourish as though he was displaying the sign himself. With Dick beside her, Mac felt comfortable enough to join him. Logan just grinned.

A lady who had also evidently spent the previous night at the White House Inn came over to ask Veronica if she could take a couple of pictures for them so she could pose with her friends. Veronica thanked her and flanked Logan's other side. She rolled her eyes at Dick's terrible Vanna impression. Mac's, she had to admit, was even worse. Still, it turned out to be a fun little memento of their vacation. Definitely a picture worthy of that scrapbook she'd probably never get around to making anyway.

Five minutes later they were back in the car, headed north on the PCH, on the hunt for a cute little breakfast spot.

_**TBC...**_

_**I couldn't resist a reference to the upcoming doomsday theory about the end of the world. I don't believe it, but had to mention it. Very timely. Anyway, I love reading your reviews. It's very motivating. Thank you for reading. And thank you for taking the time to review it, and/or alert it...  
**_


	3. The Lost Art of Civilized Bushwhacking

_**A/N: The chapter title refers to an archaic nickname for poker. Anyone recognize it? It was mentioned recently in an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles if anyone watches that. I thought it was really cool & wanted to use it as a title. So yay, I finally had an opportunity. Also, does anyone recognize the name I used for the hotel & casino in Reno? This chapter was so much fun to write and is my favorite one so far. Hope you guys like it too...**_

**Chapter **_**3—The Lost Art of Civilized Bushwhacking**_

After a brief stopover so they could grab breakfast at a diner the next town over, they once again headed north. This time Mac was behind the wheel, with Veronica sitting beside her. The guys had been banished to the back seat. This was going to be the shorter leg of the trip, as they weren't too far from the highway that would take them all the way into Reno, Nevada.

Logan and Dick were especially looking forward to this part of their vacation. Logan was thinking about poker, mentally going through strategies he'd picked up in the many pool house games he'd hosted since their high school days. But, of course, the truth of the matter is with poker you're always a victim of luck. Sometimes luck is your bitch, other times you're the bitch.

Dick wasn't as good at poker as Logan. In fact, he'd lost thousands of dollars to Logan and many other 09'ers through the years, not that it put a dent, or even a hairline crack, in his net worth of course, but still, Dick didn't like losing, even to his friends. Or, maybe, especially to his friends. Truthfully, he was more of a blackjack kind of guy. Blackjack required luck of course, and if it was bad you could lose big, but still it didn't require the skill level poker did. But gambling luck was one thing Dick had, he kind of rocked blackjack. He was hoping maybe he could convince Mackie to join him at a table.

It was quiet in the back as the guys dreamed of big gambling wins and basically wallowed in their food coma from all the carbs they'd digested at breakfast. Veronica and Mac chatted quietly as they continued on towards Reno. As they started going more towards the east instead of straight north, the scenery started morphing into a hillier terrain.

What started out as idle chatter about classes, V's dad's upcoming wedding and her position as one of Alicia's bridesmaids, soon grew into girly talk territory. They covered topics like their relationships, sex, and even feelings. Mac and V's conversation got a little deeper as the quietness from the backseat was punctuated by the occasional snore.

"I'm glad we've got some time to talk. I've missed my Q time. Especially with the boys competing for our attention." Veronica stretched her legs out on the dash, and watched the scenery speed by.

"Yes, it's nice," Mac agreed. "So, you and Dick are getting along better."

"I told you before that since that whole mess last semester where he saved you, something I utterly failed to do, well, I couldn't exactly pout about you guys dating. Make my usual pithy comments of course, that's my trademark, but I can't keep holding a grudge against him. Of course, this whole truce thing will die a quick death if he hurts you. Mr. Sparky would eviscerate little Dick. But this whole Fab Four thing wouldn't work as well if I threw him out of a moving car."

"No, it wouldn't. Fab three just doesn't have the same ring."

"No. It would be a little uneven, out of balance."

"And I'm pretty sure I don't have to ask how things are going with Logan. Third times a charm?"

"So far. You know us, steel, magnet, attract, repel, blah blah yada yada. The stuff really cheesy love songs are made of."

"Are relationships made in high school and college doomed?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure there's an equation for that. I think we're always growing and changing at every age. Dick proves anyone can mature. He's not there yet, or anywhere close, but Dick 2.0 is a definite improvement over 1.0 edition."

"Wow, V, 2 compliments about Dick in 3 minutes. If he were awake his ears must be burning."

"And I used terms you could understand, too."

"1.0, 2.0, I noticed. Thank you for techie-fying it for me."

"Got to play to my audience you know. Anyway, I guess the trick is growing and changing together. That's the determining factor more than age I guess."

"Oh, you are a sage spy girl."

"You have no idea, Q. No idea."

Mac noticed her little girly chat with V made the drive to Reno seem quicker than it was. There was a lesson there, she was sure, talking with a friend rather than just sticking your face in a book could also be a pleasant way to pass a car ride. The guys had their own way of spending time too, sleeping. They woke up from their naps right around the time they passed the Reno city limits. Before long Mac was pulling up to the circular drive in front of the Montecito Reno Casino and Resort.

The group got out of the SUV and surrendered it to the valet. They entered the opulent lobby. Mac couldn't help noticing what a contrast this place was with it's cool Italian marble and crystal chandeliers compared to the shabby wood paneled interior of the place they checked out of that morning. They got the key cards for the penthouse suite Dick had reserved. The suite was comprised of 2 bed rooms and a rather large living and dining area. It was furnished in Neo Modern furniture sort of reminiscent of the Neptune Grand.

"So does this place remind you guys of home?" Mac asked. She dropped her bag on one of the twin wing back chairs in the living area.

"Now that you mention it, I sort of felt like we were in a time warp and never really left Neptune," Logan deadpanned.

"This just makes me long for The White House Inn," Dick said. "Now that I've seen how the other half lives."

Mac just smirked at him and he laughed.

They spent most of Sunday afternoon lazing around the hotel suite, watching TV, challenging each other to games on the Xbox the concierge had brought up per Logan's request. As night descended, they decided to check out the casino.

Mac and Veronica staked their claim at 2 side by side slot machines.

"This has like the worst odds of any game on the floor," Mac said, but still she fed the machine one of the $20 dollar bills that V had just given her to cover the cost of the hotel they'd stayed at the previous night.

To her amazement 3 pulls later the bells and whistles went off, the light above the machine started flashing.

"What the Frak?" Mac screeched, in shock.

"I think you just won. What was that about worst odds?"

"Well, I'd noticed a little old lady here earlier, she must have wasted like $300 on it, so I figured the odds of it paying out soon might be a little better than average. But yeah, I still stand behind what I said earlier. Slots have horrible odds. But then we all know me and odds have a strange relationship."

V gave her friend a knowing smile. "Odds, shmodds," she said softly.

On the pay line was 2 triple bars and a 10 times pay icon. According to the machine 3 triple bars paid $100. Multiplied by 10, Mac was owed $1,000. When a casino worker came by with the money Mac promptly tried to split her winnings with V.

"You don't have to do that, Macster."

"I know I don't have to. I want to. We can put a dent in this tomorrow night after our big dinner. For the gambling part of Logan's scheduled evening of gambling and debauchery."

"But not necessarily in that order."

"Right."

Veronica refused to take the full $500 Mac offered, especially after their conversation earlier about money, but she did accept $100 finally, thinking she would use it the following day to join Logan at the poker table.

Rather than re-investing their winnings that night, the girls decided to grab salads at the casino cafe and go back to their room. On their way out of the casino they spotted Logan and Dick at the Craps table.

Once back in their rooms, they changed into their night clothes and Veronica sprawled out on one end of the ginormous couch to watch a movie on HBO while Mac sat on the other end, her laptop open.

An hour later the guys walked in.

"You didn't lose your entire trust funds already, did you?"

"No, Sugarpuss. My networth is in tact." Logan said as he sat down beside Veronica. She cuddled up beside him.

"What'cha looking at there, Mac-attack?" Dick asked as he, too, came over to join Mac on the couch. She adjusted her position slightly so she could prop her feet on his lap.

"Researching blackjack. Thought I might play it tomorrow night."

"Always double down at 11. That's all you need to know."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Mac smiled and folded closed her lap top when Dick crooked his neck, trying to see the screen.

"Keeping secrets there, Mackie?"

"From you, Dick? Never. Just finished studying blackjack technique."

"You do know this is spring break, right? We're on vacation. Studying does not belong on vacation. Against house rules."

"Who wrote these house rules?"

"Me."

"Hey guys, I hate to interrupt this riveting conversation and all, but I saw a sign for a poker tournament tomorrow night at 9, so I was wondering if we could change tomorrow night's reservations to 6 PM. Does that work?" Logan asked the group.

"No problem," Mac assured him. Everyone else nodded their consent, too.

"You know, Mac-attack here is about to join your ranks as rich 09'ers." V shared proudly. "She won big at slots tonight."

"Rich? Not quite. But I did win $1,000. This lady kept feeding the machine and losing, so I decided to give it a try. And I won on the 3rd pull, I think it was."

"That's great, Mackie. Good for you." Dick kissed her on her cheek, mindful of the fact that she wasn't big on PDA, even if the audience only consisted of close friends.

**Monday Night**

Veronica and Logan were ready first. They were sitting on the couch flipping through the channels looking for something to watch as they waited for Dick and Mac. Veronica was in a long black form fitting dress and high heels. Logan was wearing a navy double breasted suit.

"I bet Dick is the hold up," Veronica said. "All that grooming, he's worse than a girl."

"It takes time to look as pretty as I do," Dick quipped as he and Mac walked out to the living area. "You think I roll out of bed looking this good?"

"It's true," Mac backed him up. "He spends much more time on preening than I do. Kind of sad, actually."

"You look beautiful, Mac-attack."

"Back 'atcha V."

Mac had on a black satin sleeveless dress that went down just past her knees and she'd paired it with high heel black faux leather boots. Dick had on a black single breasted suit and a gray print tie. Fortunately Mac had her laptop with her because Dick hadn't known how to tie a tie, so Mac looked it up on Wikipedia. It had taken 4 attempts before it looked half way decent.

"Dickie," Veronica asked with phoney sweetness. "Did a 5 year old tie your tie?"

"No. Mackie did. Why?"

"It's just a little crooked there." Veronica went over and tugged a little on it, getting it straightened out. "When you're raised by a single dad you learn how to tie a damn good tie."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They took the elevator down to the casino level. The restaurant, Patterson's Steakhouse, was located right off the casino floor.

Their table was tucked back into a corner of the busy, low-lit restaurant. They ordered a bottle of wine and bruschetta to snack on while waiting for their dinner.

Dick and Logan drank their wine and talked about poker, reminiscing about all the games in high school at the Echolls pool house. Logan also brought up the illegal games last year at Hearst, being sure to mention Ronnie's stolen necklace, the one she'd gotten from Lilly. Fortunately she'd gotten it back after ripping it off the neck of the bratty daughter of one of the rent-a-cops who stole it in the first place.

"You know, I think we're the new Fab Four," Logan announced a few minutes later. He said it with a wistful smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"That's funny you should say that, Logan. I told Macster the same thing yesterday in the car while you and Dick were snoozing away in the back seat. You were asleep, right?"

"Absolutely, Ronnie 3.0." Dick said with a mischievous grin. "We were both fast asleep. Didn't hear a word you and Mackie said about us. And you keep Mr. Sparky far away little Dick. Though I beg to differ on your usage of little. I think Mackie could back me up on this point too."

"Switzerland, remember." She reminded Dick, winking at him as she said it.

Just then the food arrived; Logan, Dick and Veronica all had steaks while Mac had a salad, spinach and sautéed mushrooms. They talked about the next leg of their road trip in between bites of food. Logan and Dick both knew about the unusual hotel they'd be staying at by Area 51, but deliberately left both girls in the dark. Being the curious, detective type, that didn't go over well with Veronica. She and Mac even tried to play Twenty Questions but all the guys would admit was it was almost a mineral (but not quite) and definitely wasn't an animal or vegetable.

"Just put away your spyglass there, Nancy Drew. You'll find out soon enough," Logan said.

"Oh I think you'll break," Veronica said confidently. "Now, who has room for dessert? No one? Well, I need something sweet after this big meal."

"Seriously, pixie spy, where the hell do you put all this food? Where does it go?" Dick asked.

"I have a good metabolism boys. Plus I get plenty of exercise kicking butts of those who annoy me."

The waiter came by to clear their dishes and Veronica ordered Crème Brûlée, and Mac got a soy latté. After dessert was finished and the guys had paid, it was almost time for the poker tournament. Logan and Veronica headed off to the poker room on the other side of the vast casino.

"What do you want to do, Mackie?"

"I thought I'd give blackjack a try."

"Awesome. I was hoping you'd want to do that. I rule at Blackjack."

"We'll see."

They found 2 seats together at a Blackjack table out in the center of the casino. Dick started to pay for chips for both of them when Mac stopped him. She purchased $500 of chips from the dealer while Dick bought $200 worth for himself. He looked surprised at her buy-in. Mac just smiled and shrugged.

Mac placed the minimum bet, then received 2 cards from the dealer. Dick placed a higher bet for his first hand. Dick busted out, Mac lost as well. She played it very conservatively the first ten hands or so, just placing the minimum bet, noting to herself what cards she was being dealt, which cards the dealer got. Then as time progressed her bets started getting bigger, she started playing faster and looser with the cards.

About an hour into the game, Mac placed a rather high bet, then waited to receive her hand. She looked down at the cards. When it was her turn, she signaled that she wanted to split the bet. Dick frowned slightly when he saw her cards, two jacks. He subtly shook his head, but she ignored him and laid the extra chips down and waited for her 2 additional cards. She chose to hit on one, and stand on the other bet. Her aggressive play worked though and she ended up winning on both bets. Dick, on the other hand, who played his own hand much tighter, lost his wager.

For the next round, Mac studied her next 2 cards for a minute, quickly calculating the odds on the hand before placing 5 chips in front of her. When it was her turn she tapped the table in front of her and received a 3rd card, she then slid the cards under the chips to signal she was standing. Dick ended up tapping the table twice, then busting out.

The game went on like that for several more hands. Dick won a few of his hands as time progressed, but most hands Mac played she ended up winning. She made a point of not playing every hand, and Dick noticed that she seemed to be studying the cards a bit more than the other players at the table. He thought perhaps she was using her supercomputer brain to recall the strategies she'd been reading up on last night. She seemed aggressive on some hands, and a little more conservative on others.

Unfortunately though he wasn't really proving to her that he was as awesome at Blackjack as he'd indicated he was. Macster, on the other hand, really seemed to have a serious case of beginners luck. He always seemed to forget she was good at practically everything she ever did. That was the upside, and the downside too, of dating a geeky girl, not that anyone else was allowed to call her that. Whereas he once meant that as an insult, now it was the highest compliment in his opinion.

As the hours ticked by Mac's chip stacks steadily grew into mountainous proportions. Dick ended up buying another $100 in chips just so he could continue playing. Somewhere in the middle of the 3rd hour of play he caught several winning hands in a row and was eking out a small profit. Or really, counting the first stack, he blew through, more like breaking even. But Mac was still very much ahead. Dick wasn't sure what her secret was, but he wished some of her luck would rub off on him.

By the 4th hour of play Mac's chip mountain was almost reaching Everest status. Dick turned his head and noticed a tall black man in a suit wearing dark sunglasses watching their table with interest. Then it was Dick's turn to play. He placed 5 chips in front of him. The dealer gave him 2 cards. Ace King. Blackjack! Dick grinned really big as he received his payout. Finally, luck was starting to be on his side.

Subtly Dick turned around again and saw the guy hadn't moved from his post. He tried to catch Mackie's eye but she was concentrating on her cards. A few hands later Dick all but forgot about the guy standing watch.

Then Mac felt a hand on her back. She turned around and saw a man standing there.

"Miss, I need you to come with me."

"Who are you?" Dick asked, turning around in his seat to get a better look at the man touching his girlfriend. It was the guy he'd noticed earlier.

"The name's Thomas Weidman, I'm head of security for the Montecito Reno Resort and Casino. Who are you?"

"Dick Casablancas, I'm her boyfriend," he said pointing to Mac. "Her name's Cindy Mackenzie, by the way."

"Okay, then you can both follow me. I'll have the pit boss hold on to your chip stacks in the cage."

Dick noticed the lady pit boss placing both his stack and Mac's much larger stack of chips into 2 separate buckets and take them away. He grabbed Mac's hand and squeezed gently as they followed the head of security through the casino floor and up a short flight of stairs. They went through a set of double doors into a massive control room. The Wiedman guy (that name sounded so familiar to Dick for some reason) took them through the control area and into a private office. He signaled to Mac to sit down in one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk. Then the security guy went around and sat behind the massive wooden desk. Dick took the seat beside Mac. He reached over and once again held her hand.

*****Poker Room*****

Today luck was Logan's bitch. The cards were treating him rather well. He had a nice chip stack in front of him and though luck could certainly flip and make him the bitch, right now Logan had a lot of confidence in the lovely pair of ladies face down in front of him. Veronica was sitting out this hand, like she did most hands. She wasn't losing much, though she obviously wasn't winning much either. The dealer had been shooting her looks lately, trying not so subtly to bully Veronica into playing more hands. Obviously though the dealer had no clue who she was dealing with. Logan put out a healthy bet pre-flop. He took a sip of single malt scotch and waited.

The first three community cards the dealer turned over were 4-6-J. So far so good, Logan thought, baring something unexpected like another player with a pair of cowboys. Or worse, a pair of bullets. He held his breath as the dealer flipped the turn card over. K. Logan hissed as he let the breath he'd been holding out. He hoped no one heard him.

For the river card the dealer flipped over a Q. Inwardly Logan did a little victory dance. But outwardly he schooled himself into looking nonchalant. He was the son of 2 actors after all, Logan Echolls knew how to play it cool.

He accepted his winnings and grinned over at Veronica. Her attention, however, was elsewhere.

"What's up, Ronnie?" Logan whispered noticing her expression. She was obviously listening intently to a conversation between 2 dealers at the next table over. She was in spy girl mode, something Logan knew well.

"I heard those 2 guys over there talking about busting someone for card counting over at the black jack table."

"So?"

"Mac!"

"You think it's Mac?"

"They said it was a college kid. Who else can you think of smart enough to do that? Dick?"

"They didn't say if the person was male or female?"

"No. No gender was mentioned."

"Well, I agree Mac is the more likely card counter than Dick. But I doubt we're the only college kids in this fine establishment." Logan tried to reassure Ronnie.

Logan played a couple more hands of Texas Hold'em, but it was obvious Veronica was really worried about Mac. The tournament had long been over, Logan had come in 2nd. But since he was far from Pokered out, he and Veronica had been playing at a table game for the past few hours. He hadn't put much of a dent in his tournament winnings. Taking another look at Veronica and the worry that was etched in her face, Logan drained the rest of his scotch and cashed in his chips so they could find out more about the case of the card counter.

Logan stashed his wad of newly won cash in his wallet and followed his Nancy Drew out into the open area of the brightly lit casino. It was crowded and loud, he kept dodging people as he tried to keep up with Veronica while she was on a mission to find Mac. They scanned the rows of Blackjack tables in the middle of the casino. No sign of either Mac or Dick.

Veronica dispatched Logan to go to their room to check if they'd gone back there. She would interrogate the pit boss.

Despite her attempts at intimidation, Veronica couldn't get much out of the unflappable pit boss. She did confirm that their head of security was interviewing a young lady about suspicion of card counting, but she wouldn't confirm nor deny that the young lady was one Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie.

Logan came back and reported that neither Mac nor Dick were in the suite.

With Logan acting as look out, Veronica decided she'd try to enter the security control room. She was almost three-quarters of the way up the stairway when a member of the security team came out of the room and met her on the stairs.

"Miss, I'm sorry but only authorized personnel are permitted to enter these doors."

"I think my friend is in there."

"Be that as it may, I can't let you in. I'm sure your friend will fill you in later."

Reluctantly, Veronica turned back around to go down the stairs. However, she had gotten enough of a look at the door to notice one interesting detail. On the double doors the name Thomas Wiedman, Head of Security, was printed on the door. Wiedmen. Interesting. Thomas had to be a brother or cousin of Clarence. Would she ever escape the clutches of the Wiedmen family? Neptune seemed to have its tentacles everywhere, or at least all corners of the west coast.

Logan talked Veronica into coming back to the suite with him so they could wait for Mac and Dick. By now he was fully convinced the girl they were interrogating had to be Mac. Veronica was pacing back and forth in the large living area, ignoring the movie Logan had put on, hoping to distract her.

"Bobcat, calm down. It'll be okay. Card counting is not illegal. Mac is smart, probably smarter than the security guy. She'll be fine."

"Wiedman."

"What?"

"The security guy's name is Thomas Wiedman. I think he's probably related to Clarence. That's not the most common surname you know."

"Clarence? Like the head of security for Kane software? That Clarence Wiedman? Then she's definitely smarter than this security guy."

Veronica smiled at that but didn't stop with her pacing. About twenty minutes later they heard the snick of the key card. She ran over to the door just as Mac and Dick were entering.

"Q! You're back. I heard there was a little trouble at the tables today, and for some reason my spidey sense tells me you're in the midst of it."

"Ronnie, give her some space," Dick chastised.

"It's okay, Dick. I'm fine. Could you get some water from the mini-fridge?"

"Sure Macster." Dick turned to get the water while Mac sat down on the couch. Veronica promptly sat down beside her, curling up her legs.

"So?"

"They accused me of card counting." Mac said as she grabbed the bottle Dick handed her. "Thanks babe." She took a long drink of water before continuing. "The security guy, Thomas Wiedmen. He spotted me on the eye in the sky camera and thought my betting pattern was suspect."

"Wiedmen."

"Yes, Wiedmen. I suppose you remember Clarence. This Wiedmen is his younger brother. He grew up in Neptune. We had a nice chat actually, talking about the old Alma Mater. Good memories for both of us." Mac smirked.

"Well, isn't that nice. Details. I want details."

"Not much to tell. They tried to intimidate me. It's not illegal. I know that. I reminded them of that."

"I might have mentioned the stable of attorneys still on retainer for my dad," Dick added. He was sitting on the other side of Mac, and had his arm around her protectively.

"So, were they right?"

"I'll never tell. There's nothing they can really prove. And like I said, it's not illegal. All they had to support their theory really wasn't proof. It was just my betting pattern and also I guess my consistent splitting on tens was a red flag too."

"How much did you win? Will you get to keep it?"

"$10,500 and yes."

"Well well well, I guess you found a cure for your lack of money blues."

"And a big old black ball in Reno casinos. Not sure if that will extend to the rest of Nevada's casinos or not. But since they invented this magic box called a computer with internet capabilities life has been pretty hard for card counters. See these magic boxes speak to one another, share video feeds, have nifty programs like facial recognition, all kinds of good techie stuff."

Logan started laughing. "I knew there was a reason we were friends, Macster. Kicked out of a casino. You're the best."

"But I still get to keep the money. Small price to pay I guess. I might try the Bahamas casinos next. And I've got to give you credit, V, the fake ID held up so well. No one questioned its authenticity at all."

"Well yeah, I'm a genius at ID making! But there's one thing I don't understand. Where did you learn how to card count?" Veronica asked.

"Well, again, I'm not saying that's what I did. Just it's what I was accused of. And once again, it is not illegal if I did it. Which I'm not saying I did."

"Enough with the obligatory disclaimers, Mac-attack."

"Okay, that's enough of the legalese portion of our program. With all that legal mumbo jumbo on the record, IF I did card count I might have picked it up from that little magic box called my lap top. Really, it's amazing what you can find on the internet these days. Next thing you know they'll have hacker guides."

"So where is this big stash of cash now?"

"They're holding it at the cashiers cage. I can pick it up tomorrow. I have to be escorted there and back, and I can only be there long enough to get the money. Then I have to leave. And they reviewed the footage of me winning the slot jackpot. I guess they were really hoping to see me stick a metal pole in the money slot or something. Sadly they weren't able to prove cheating in that case."

"I have to go pick up my $325 in winnings tomorrow." Dick added.

"Impressive wins, you guys."

"So how much did you and Ronnie win playing poker?" Dick asked.

"I won $2,500 and Ronnie left with $150, I think."

"Not bad guys," Mac complimented.

"Well, that's counting my $100 buy in. I only played like 5 hands," V confessed. "Gambling is definitely more Logan's thing. And now I guess Mac's too."

"Or not, since I'm not to grace any casino in a 100 mile radius with my presence."

"And thus ended Miss Cindy Mackenzie's illustrious career as a professional card counter." Logan said in his best Voice Over imitation.

"Hey Logan, I hear there's an opening for a new Movie Phone guy. Maybe you should audition." Dick joked.

"Well guys, I think I'm going to turn in. Being interrogated by casino security can really take it out of a girl. Good night." Mac announced a few minutes later. Dick followed her into their bedroom.

Logan and Veronica went to bed after that too.

_**TBC...**_

_**A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter. I took some liberties with the whole card counting thing, especially the amount Mac wins. In real life it probably wouldn't have been that lucrative in that short of a time. But I totally wanted to do something with card counting. It just seemed so in character with Mac. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to do quite a bit MaDi/LoVe fluffy stuff for the first few chapters. I'd love it if you would fill that big empty box below with a review. Good review. Or concrit. Whatever. It's all welcome. Thank you!**_


	4. Area 51 and Alien RVs

_**A/N: I have to confess something, this roadtrip is kind of a culmination of several of my more geeked out fantasy vacations. So sorry for the delay in getting this one up. The holidays were crazy busy and then I got a little writer's block halfway through this chapter. But yesterday inspiration struck again and I finally finished it. I will try hard to update every 2 to 3 weeks. I'd like to do it sooner than that but Monday I start a new job, so things will be busier than usual for me. But I love writing and definitely plan on continuing this story, it just might take a little longer than I'd like. Thank you for reading. As always reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Veronica Mars. I also don't own the Little A'Le'Inn, Men In Black, Airstream trailers, or any other real place or pop culture reference mentioned within this story. Little A'Le'Inn is a real place, but I took a lot of liberties with it to make it work for my own purposes. So if you've been there, forgive me. And maybe I'll see you there one day, it really appeals to my inner nerd. Outer too. **_

**Chapter 4—**_**Area 51 and Alien RVs**_

The next morning they all went down to the buffet for breakfast. Mac was convinced all the restaurant workers were looking at her and whispering. She halfway expected to see a mug-shot like picture of her behind the register with the warning not to let this person within a 100 feet.

"Everyone's staring at me. The workers, other customers, everyone." Mac whispered to Dick as they went through the buffet line selecting their breakfast. Dick had his plate piled high with bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns and rolls. Mac's plate on the other hand held only fresh fruit, hash browns, and a bowl of grits, the only things she could justify as true vegan fare.

"No one is looking at you. You're not a common criminal. No one knows. There's no scarlet CC on your head or anything."

"CC?"

"Card Counter."

"Oh. Well, look at you with your literary joke. I'm impressed, Dick."

"I keep telling you, I'm more than a pretty face."

"That you are."

They brought their plates over to the booth. Logan and Veronica were already sitting down eating.

"Well, Ronnie and I were thinking we might as well check out after you two richy-riches collect your money, since we're not exactly welcome in the casino anymore. Maybe we can do some sightseeing today. Check out the best Reno has to offer."

"You guys are all still welcome at the Casino. I'm the only one with a mug shot tacked up on every spare surface in the security war room. I'm sure I can find other ways to cause trouble other than card counting in the casino."

"Ah ha, Q. So you admit to your crime."

"I do no such thing Bond. It's just I already was found guilty by Wiedman and company without the benefits of a trial."

"Well, you could have had to give the money back."

"Why? Again, if and only if I did count cards, my only crime was finding a way to gain a slight edge back from the casino. We all know they carry the statistical advantages, so this is one way of giving a little bit more of an edge back to the player. What is so wrong with that?! There's nothing illegal about it."

"Get off your soapbox there, Q. I agree with you 100%. And I know, you're not admitting guilt of course."

"That's right."

"I'm glad you won the money. I'm glad the threat of Casablancas lawyers worked. I think you should get to keep it. I could still use your help with some cases though. If you're still interested in doing some more Q work to my Bond."

"Yes, absolutely. I'll come by Mars Investigations when we get back."

"Mackie? What are you plotting with our favorite pixie spy?"

"I'm going to help her go through some case files and do any digging she may need."

"I have no idea why you would want to risk your life again. Things can go wrong, you could get hurt again. Maybe worse this time."

"It's not totally without risk. I get that, Dick, but that was more of a flukey thing. I'm as safe as I can be. I need the money."

"I thought you just won over $10,000."

"I did. But I like to be the Q to Veronica's Bond. It's fun. It's exciting. I'm more careful these days, I promise."

"I'll keep her safe. I won't let her get hurt again, Dick." Veronica promised. She made a puppy-begging noise and threw in her "patented" head tilt for good measure.

"How can you resist that?" Logan asked. He never could.

"Easily."

Then Mac got in on the begging too, copying V's trademarked head tilt.

"Just be safe. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you, Mackie." Dick could easily resist Ronnie's begging but not when Mac got in on it, too.

"Ditto."

After breakfast, they checked out of the suite. Veronica and Logan waited in the lobby with the luggage while Dick and Mac were escorted through the casino floor to retrieve their winnings from the night before. Dick was paid in cash while Mac was given a cashiers check.

They retrieved the car from the valet, tipping him very well. They decided to drive around Reno for a while, seeing if anything grabbed their attention.

"I'm a little nervous, carrying around a check this big." Mac admitted.

"Tuck it into your bra," Veronica suggested.

"That's an idea."

Just outside the limits of Reno they found signs for The Animal Ark, a 38 acre animal reserve dedicated to providing a place for wild animals who have been displaced and can't go back into their natural habitat for varying reasons. They explored the park for a while, watching the animals enjoying their large enclosures which were built to resemble their natural habitats. Logan enjoyed pointing out the 3 bobcats to his own personal _bobcat_, Veronica. She just laughed and then growled. Meanwhile Dick was fascinated by Effie, a female Arctic Fox who reminded him of Baxter, a Samoyed dog his dad had given him for his 8th birthday. Meanwhile, that same year his dad gave Cassidy a new fishing pole, which sat untouched in his closet. Mac just squeezed his hand when he shared that memory with her.

After exploring Animal Ark they once again piled into V's Saturn and drove on some more. They decided to take a quick hike to one of the area's many waterfalls. Dick positioned himself behind Mac in case she stumbled, the trail was steep and in places seemed to stretch into the sky. The treacherous climb was worth it though, the view was magnificent. The trail ended right before the water dropped down 50 feet into a pool of water below. Trees hugged them from all sides. The sound of roaring water enveloped them drowning out any possibility of conversation. Two eagles soared above weaving to and from each other. Mac slid a little on the way back down the trail. She quickly righted herself before she fell. However, Dick was convinced her knee had given out on her.

"I'm fine," Mac said. "For the one millionth time, my knee is fine." She rolled her eyes. Really, the fact Dick could (on occasion) be so sweet and caring was a wonderful unexpected departure from the Dick she knew in high school but sometime it could be annoying too. She and Dick climbed into the backseat while Logan took the driver's seat and V sat beside him.

They began the long drive to Rachel, NV home to the top secret US air base known the world over as Area 51. Before long the lush tree filled landscape of the Reno area gave way to stark desert. And towns got further and further apart. Before losing the last remnants of civilization they pulled off at a small 1 stoplight town to fill the gas tank up and grab lunch. A salad for Mac, burgers for everyone else. They also made a quick stop at the town's only grocery store.

The evening had crept in and darkness was beginning to spread when they finally pulled into Rachel, the closest town to Area 51. The sleepy little desert town only had one draw keeping it alive, its relatively close proximity to Area 51. The main enterprise in town was the Little A'Le'Inn. It was a restaurant, gift shop and hotel. Out back of the complex they had both a campground and also a small fleet of silver Airstream trailers they rented out by the night. Logan had reserved 2 of those trailers as their Area 51 accommodations.

"Interesting hotel choice, Logan." Veronica said drily. She was standing behind him as he opened the door to their home for the night. "It looks like a tin can."

"Or a space ship, which is fitting for where we are. Besides, the rooms inside the inn were already filled up. Evidently this is quite the tourist mecca. Popular with the conspiracy theorists."

"Yes, it's just way too crowded out here in the desert in the middle of frakin' nowhere."

"Anyway, this has all the comforts of home, Sugarpuss. Plus more privacy than those paper thin walls of The White House Inn. I bet we can find a white towel."

"To surrender?"

"So the aliens can find us of course. D'uh!"

"So the plan is to surrender to aliens?"

"No. Just our baser instincts. If the trailers a rockin', Dick won't come a knockin'."

"Just one taze, and he wouldn't anyway."

But before they could get the towel on the door, Dick and Mac were there knocking.

"We come bearing food," Mac announced, though her voice was muffled through the plywood front door of the camper.

Veronica opened the door. Dick was loaded down with paper bags filled with the overpriced food they'd purchased earlier in the day at the tiny grocery store in that podunk desert town. Mac limped in behind him. He deposited the bags on the counter and Veronica helped Mac unload it. They had all the ingredients needed to make lasagna, garlic bread, a salad, and mushroom risotto.

"Who needs Luigis, we can have our own Italian feast," Mac said laughing at the skeptical look V gave her in return. She set to work chopping the mushrooms, and measuring the rice and vegetable stock for the risotto.

Veronica reached around her to grab the noodles for the lasagna. "You know guys, you could actually do something to contribute here." She filled up a stock pot with water and set it on the stove to boil.

"We are contributing," Dick said. "We're allowing you lovely ladies to practice your cooking skills on us." He tried to hide his chuckle at the look Logan gave him. "Ouch!" He looked over to see it was Mackie who had beamed him with the still frozen garlic loaf. "You could really injure someone with that."

"Yeah, Mac-attack, you could have poked his eye out," Logan quipped. Then he shrieked like a little girl when Ronnie threw the box of pasta at him.

"The salad won't make itself," Veronica said removing a big salad bowl from a top cabinet. She placed it on the other counter alongside bagged lettuce, shredded carrots and a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. "Logan, there you go. Make yourself useful."

Dick smirked at his buddy and made a whipping sound as Logan set to work assembling the salad.

"Dickie, do you know how to work an oven?" Mac asked in a faux sweet voice.

"Yes, Mackie, I know how to work an oven. I used to watch my maid do it."

Logan laughed and turned towards Dick to high five him as their girlfriends' exchanged simultaneous eye rolls.

"Um dear, do you remember when we talked about how some things sound better in your head than coming out of your mouth."

"Yes, mom." Dick said. Then he feigned shock at Mackie's less than polite finger gesture.

"Turn the dial to 425 degrees, then when the light goes out it means the oven is at the right temperature. You can put the lasagna in there, and then during the last 10 minutes of cooking the garlic bread will need to go in too."

After Logan was done making the salad he opened a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and everyone drank wine as they finished cooking dinner. When it came time to add the garlic bread to the oven Dick couldn't resist teasing Mac. He waited until she was looking at him, then without first removing the bread from the plastic wrapping he acted like he was going to just stick it in the oven like that. She opened her mouth to remind him about the wrap when he assured her he was only joking. He found a cookie sheet in the drawer under the oven and after removing the outer wrapping he placed the loaf on top.

Finally the food was done cooking and everyone sat down at the booth next to the small galley kitchen in the crowded camper. They all heaped their plates full of food, and started working on a 2nd bottle of wine. Between bites of food and sips of wine, the four friends laughed and teased each other. They discussed the trip so far, and rehashed Mac's card counting adventure.

About halfway through dinner Mac turned to Logan and asked him why he wanted to see Area 51.

"Well, I don't know. It just seems egotistical to me to think we're the only planet in this galaxy teaming with life. I've got to think that somewhere in the Government that someone has figured out there is alien life and have been working on inventing technology to explore other dimensions. Of all the people at this table, Mac, I'd think this would be your type of place."

"My people?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Little green men. Awesome." Dick said. "'Nuff said."

"Most people spend spring break surfing in Hawaii. We're in nowheresville, Nevada at Area 51," Veronica said.

"What are you talking about? It's like we're entering a video game. It's an adventure. Nowheresville, Nevada. You'll love it Nancy Drew. Maybe we'll get chased away by the Men In Black."

"Dude, did you remember your dark glasses?" Dick asked Logan.

"Raybans, check." Logan said. Then he got quiet for a moment, weighing whether or not he wanted to further explain his fascination with the idea of Alien life. "I used to spend a lot of time by the pool at night, just looking up at the night sky, learning the constellations. I thought a lot about what else was up there, if we were really alone here. I also wondered if maybe somewhere out there, somewhere deep in another universe there was another Logan Echolls. And another Aaron Echolls. And maybe, just fucking maybe, that Logan didn't get beat almost every night." He said it quietly, looking down at his plate. Logan knew that Dick was vaguely aware that he was abused, and Veronica of course knew everything. But without even looking up at her, he could feel that Mac was shocked by his admission. Veronica reached out to squeeze his hand, and he looked up to see Dick looking sympathetically at him. Not pity though.

"Oh shit, Logan." Mac finally said. "I knew living with your dad couldn't have been easy, but I didn't know that."

"Well, not exactly something I tend to lead with. It's not really public knowledge and I like it that way."

"Of course. I won't reveal it next time I get stopped by the paparazzi wanting to interview me about our friendship," Mac said jokingly. She tried to lighten the mood a little bit at least.

"Thanks. Now that's a true friend."

Dick noticed that Logan was getting uncomfortable talking about Aaron so he quickly changed the subject. Mac rolled her eyes when he launched into a dirty joke. But it got Logan laughing and trying to one up him so it worked. After everyone was done eating the guys washed the dishes while Ronnie and Mac stayed seated, finishing their wine. Dick had his back towards the girls, so Mac took the time to study his posterior. She chuckled slightly remember the corny line about liking to see someone come, but loving to see them go. Veronica quirked her eyebrow at Mac.

"Thinking dirty thoughts, Q?"

"Who me?"

"Said all innocent like."

"That's me, innocent and pure."

"We're just a couple of marshmallows, Q."

"That we are, Bond. No, I was just enjoying the sight of Dick's butt."

"Ah ah ah. I must stop you there. I did not ask for a glimpse into your psyche. I just wondered if you were thinking dirty thoughts. Not what said thoughts were."

"Even you've got to admit it's nice."

"I don't have to admit any such thing. Dick and my truce does not extend to judging each others' posteriors, thank you. Besides, it doesn't even compare next to the fine specimen of man standing next to him splashing water everywhere."

"Yeah, neither of them excel in the art of housekeeping."

When all the dishes were cleaned and put into the rack to dry the guys joined their girlfriends at the table and they continued to talk and tease each other as they drained the wine bottle. Around 1 AM Mac and Dick headed out the door to go back to their own trailer.

Dick couldn't help noticing Mac's slight limp on the 500 foot trek to their accommodations but he waited until they were tucked into the queen bed for the night to say anything.

"So, you did hurt your knee hiking today." Dick said matter of factly.

"Not really. It twinged a little, but it wasn't bad. It just still gets stiff from time to time on long car rides. It's only been 6 months. The doctor said I could get occasional flares of discomfort for the next year or so. No big deal."

Dick didn't look like he believed her so Mac decided to prove to him her knee was fine. She rolled over and straddled him. Dick responded favorably right away. Ten minutes later they were sweaty and panting, but fully satiated. Mac reached over and turned off the bedside lamp and then stretched a little bit, reveling in the boneless, after-sex bliss she always felt. She turned on her right side and Dick spooned her. Soon they were both snoring.

The next morning Logan and Veronica knocked on their trailer. The 2 couples decided to go to the Little A'Le'Inn's restaurant for breakfast. After the waitress took their order, Dick and Mac headed over to the little gift shop located in the front of the restaurant. The shelves and racks were full of alien themed hats, coffee cups, signs, books, movie posters and of course tee shirts. Before long they both made a purchase and made it back to the table before the food arrived.

"So, what did you guys get," Veronica inquired, noticing their plastic bags.

Dick proudly held up a green shirt with an alien holding up one finger that said "Got Probe?" Logan grinned.

"Classy, bro."

Then Mac held up her plain black shirt that read in big letters "Be Smart." Then below it in smaller letters "Be Skeptical."

"It was between this one and a shirt that said "I was raised by Aliens." In the end I thought this one would be better. Plus it sums up my beliefs pretty well." Mac confessed.

Veronica gave her a half smile, she knew the real reason her friend didn't buy the raised by aliens shirt.

Just then their breakfast arrived. Everyone tucked into their meals, and sipped coffee. When they were done eating Dick went up to pay and get directions to Area 51.

They piled back into Veronica's car and headed down Highway 375, also aptly nick named the Extraterrestrial Highway. About 20 miles down the road they saw a squat metal building with a giant tin statue with an alien like head. The sign in front of it read Alien Research Center. At Logan's insistence, Veronica pulled off and parked in one of the designated visitors spots. They headed inside. It was basically just another giant alien-themed gift shop with several times bigger selection than the Little A'le'inn had. Everyone signed the giant Alien Wall.

They got back into the car, this time Logan was behind the wheel. About 15 miles further down the road they found the turn off called Grooms Road. It was dusty and unpaved. Dick had been warned that the front gate to Area 51 (which was closed to the public anyway) was approximately 13 miles down Grooms Lake Road. As they bumped along Veronica mentally cringed thinking how dirty her beautiful new silver SUV was getting. She appreciated the irony of a group of college kids from Neptune taking a Saturn to hopefully glimpse alien craft at Area 51. Of course she belonged in this group or her name wasn't Veronica Mars.

They passed a dried up lake that was the road's namesake and right after that was the secure front gate of Area 51. Signs were posted everywhere warning to stay away. The signs proclaimed it was restricted, it was a military installation and trespassing was forbidden. Logan entertained a brief fantasy of scaling the fence but one glance at Ronnie put a damper on that idea. Damn, it was like she could read his mind. Scary how well she knew him, Logan mused to himself.

They parked off to the side of the road, and leaned up against the car watching. Though no one really knew what they expected to see. It didn't seem likely a low flying spaceship would swoop in beside them. Eventually they all loaded back into the car and Logan turned it around so they headed back the other direction on Groom Lake Road. They were less than 5 miles from the Extraterrestrial Highway when Logan looked up and into his rear view mirror. Trailing behind, but quickly gaining on them, was a black Chevy SUV that had that air of official government issue about it.

Logan was just chiding himself about watching too many movies when Veronica turned to him and said softly "I think we have company."

Mac, overhearing Veronica looked over her shoulder. "We definitely do. What was that you said about the Men In Black? I think they found us."

"Dude, I hope they're like Tommy Lee Jones. He was awesome." Dick interjected.

"Just pull over, Logan," Veronica urged. "I'll take care of it." She could tell Logan was seriously considering trying to out distance them.

Reluctantly Logan pulled over to the side of the dusty road and lowered his window, waiting for the government guy. A tall skinny man in fatigues slowly got out of the car and sauntered over to them. He was wearing black sunglasses and he wore his blond hair in a standard military crew cut.

"Is there a problem sir?" Logan asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew this is private property. Civilians are not supposed to be here."

The guy was polite and Logan resisted the urge to get snarky with him. He knew they weren't going to get past the gates anyway, he just wanted to see what he could of the famous top secret Area 51. A few minutes later the military guy let them go.

They arrived back to the Little A'Le'Inn around lunch time. They ordered salads and alien burgers and joked about their brush with the special forces. The next day they were leaving Rachel, Nevada behind to go camping. Dick was especially looking forward to that part of their epic road trip adventure.

**TBC...**


	5. Chapter 5--Roughing It redux

**_A/N: Finally! Sorry for the delay. I'm adjusting to going from a SAHM to a working woman again. And I was sick on top of everything, so I didn't have much motivation for awhile. But I've discovered that I can get a lot of writing done at work while I'm on hold, I'm on the phone a lot being an inside salesperson. Multi-tasking! So I hope to update every 2.5 weeks now instead of once a month. I hope everyone still remembers this story! Enjoy. And please review, it really does motivate me. Thanks for reading!_**

**Chapter 5—Roughing it redux**

After one final Alien breakfast, as Logan had taken to calling any meal they had at the Little A'Le'Inn's restaurant, they checked out of the trailers and headed back north on the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Soon they were back on the major interstate that would take them west towards Reno once again. The campground Dick had reserved for them was back in California nestled high in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, not far from where he and Mac had stayed when he'd joined the Mackenzie's on one of their biannual family camping trips last Fall. Or as Mac referred to it, biannual rite of torture, and that trip had done nothing to change her mind. In fact, it served to only reinforce that opinion. She'd liked spending more time with Dick though. They had just made the transition from kissing gaming buddies to dating a few weeks before the camp out so things were still new, tentative between them. Mac's younger brother Ryan had not realized Dick was Cassidy's older brother and he had not taken that discovery very well. But somehow despite the drama that had ensued that weekend Dick still wanted to go camping again and Mac had let him convince her to endure yet another camp out, but at least this time Logan and Veronica would be there too.

Dick and Logan had gone out a few weeks ago and bought 2 giant tents, a portable grill, fold up table and chairs, a campfire coffee maker, and any and every rustic luxury item that caught their eyes and deep bank accounts. So basically the trunk space of V's SUV was packed to capacity with rather useless camping gear. If there were to be an unexpected Apocalypse or even an alien invasion, they'd be all set.

"Hey babe," Mac's voice cut in on Dick's musings. He'd been thinking about camping with the Mackenzie's last Fall. Not all of it was full of drama and angst. In his half-dreaming state, Dick was remembering making love to Mac under the stars by the dying fire. It was their first time and it was even better than he'd imagined it would be. Mac had been starring in many of his fantasies since that day on Dog Beach the end of freshman year when she had spurned his advances.

"What?" Dick's voice was husky.

"Veronica just asked if we needed to charge our cell phones. My battery is full, I just charged it at the trailer last night. However, I don't think you've charged yours since Reno."

"The only people whose call or text I actually answer wouldn't be trying to reach me this week anyway. So I don't really care if the battery dies or not."

"I call bullshit on that, Casablancas. Every time I call you it goes straight to voice mail," Veronica said. She briefly turned around to look over her shoulder at Dick before once again focusing her attention on her driving.

"That's because I screen my calls, Mars. All 2 times you ever called me. Besides, I was referring to Logan and Mackie, not you." Dick smirked at the back of the pixie spy's head.

"What if Chip calls with an urgent Frat crisis?" Logan interjected.

"That's right. What if Neptune experiences a beer drought while we're gone? Or worse, what if the Sack & Pack can't take the loss of business during a school shut down and is forced to close their doors?" Mac asked with faux seriousness. "It would be anarchy."

"Or every girl on campus suddenly gains 50 IQ points and Chip's certain slimy charms no longer work their magic on every unsuspecting female at Hearst? He'd have to leave Balboa County limits to meet women again," Veronica suggested.

"A beer shortage. That would be a travesty," Dick mused. Veronica scoffed. "What? I study the dictionary. Okay, okay. Whatever." Dick reached down and grabbed the bag at his feet. He dug around through his clothes until he found the cell and charger. He tapped Logan on the shoulder and handed them to him. "Thanks man."

Soon both guys were sleeping, their snores punctuating the silence. Occasionally Veronica or Mac would bring up some topic of conversation to fill in the gaps, but mainly both girls were quiet, lost in their own thoughts. It was a comfortable silence though, they never felt the need to talk just to talk.

The guys woke up when they stopped for lunch at a diner in a little border town just over the California state line. When they got back into the car for the last leg of their trip, Dick got behind the wheel since he was the one who (somewhat) knew where they were going. Logan sat up in the passenger's seat, leaving Mac and Veronica to nap in the back.

The sun was just starting its western descent when Dick found the turn off for The Gold Rush camping resort. The SUV bounced up and down the unpaved driveway leading up to the parking lot. They parked and Dick went into the hut-like kiosk at the far end of the dirt lot. He paid the attendant and got a map to their site. Mac, Veronica, and Logan stayed behind to unload the supplies from the trunk area of the SUV.

"Well," Dick announced as he rejoined the group. "Our site is about ¾ of a mile down that trail there." He pointed to his left, and took a particularly heavy looking bag out of Mac's arms. He put it down and starting gathering up several other bags and boxes Logan had scattered on the ground surrounding the car. He picked them up, and everyone else followed suit.

"Guys, we'd better hurry up. We don't have much light left," Mac said worriedly. "I'm not sure we planned this real well."

"I think that can be said for pretty much any leg of this trip, Q. Let's just get what we can for now and send the guys back later with a flashlight if its something we can't live without, like a hairdryer or curling iron."

"Right, because there's so much electricity out here in the fucking woods," Logan said.

"Hey, hair emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere pal. You did pack a generator, right? I mean you guys practically bought out Camper's World, don't tell me you didn't prepare for our electrical needs."

Logan smacked his forehead. "Damn. I knew didn't plan for every contingency."

"That means situation," Veronica clarified for Dick, who used a finger gesture to convey his gratitude.

"I know what it means."

Gathering what they could, they set off down the trail towards one of the many sites scattered in the 1000 acre campground. Carefully they made their way through the dirt trail winding its way through the woods. The dense canopy of trees made the already darkening sky darker. It wasn't long before they came to a clearing. They set up camp 200 yards into it. A fire pit was located near by.

Everyone pitched in to set up the tents in the waning light. Before the darkness fully enveloped them Mac and Veronica set to work building a fire while Dick and Logan finished tethering the tents.

When everything was set up and secured, the fire was quite big, lighting up the entire camp site. Dick dug around the small cooler he'd filled with ice that morning. He found a couple packs of turkey hot dogs and one package of vegan dogs. A wiener roast! He wondered if roasting a veggie dog over the fire would improve its taste. He wondered if anything would. He doubted it. Logan and Veronica set to work gathering sticks. Soon they were spearing their hot dogs and plunging them in the fire.

After the hot dogs were cooked through, leaving a nice crispy, singed skin, everyone sat on the logs scattered around the fire pit eating their dinner.

The chill in the mountain air was taken away by the now massive fire. As she chewed her veggie dog Mac watched the fire reaching high into the sky. It was a clear night and she tested her memory of the constellations. She easily found Orion, though Andromeda and Ursa Minor were a little more challenging. Around her Dick and Veronica were teasing each other. Gone was the bitter edge Mac would occasionally hear creep into her best friend's voice when she spoke to Dick. Idly, she wondered when it had stopped. Her reverie was cut short by her boyfriend's animated voice. She smiled as he told the same silly "ghost" story her dad told at every family camp out. Of course, he put his own flourishes to it. _Dickisms_ as she thought of it.

"There were these 3 hot chicks having a sleepover outside in the backyard of the skinny blond '09er cheerleader's massive property. They are all wearing black lace lingerie and are practicing their kissing techniques on one another. They are also picking feathers out of each others' hair left over from the pillow fight they'd just had. The mud pit was filled with fresh mud ready and waiting for them just in case the mood was right. And of course the mood is always right for a mud fight. Suddenly their sleepover festivities were interrupted by this freaky deaky screaming. It was high pitched like 10,000 junior high girls at a Justin Bieber concert. Really put a damper on the making out and shit. The girls cuddled up together in fear. One girl even peed on herself a little.

Then, suddenly...BOO!"

Mac laughed at Logan and Veronica's lack of reaction. "You should have seen Dick's reaction when dad told that same story back in October. He screamed. Funny though, I don't remember the naked slumber party."

"That's what made the story for me," Logan defended.

"I'm not sure I get the main character's motivation," Veronica snarked.

"Uh, 2 other hot, scantily dressed chicks. Sounds like enough motivation to me."

"Yeah, sugarpuss, I'm convinced of their motivation. Being around hot cheerleaders, especially blond ones, always motivates my libido."

"Unfortunately for you, I forgot to pack my spirit squad uniform." Veronica told Logan snapping her fingers' in an "oh darn" gesture.

"Looks like you're not getting any tonight then, dude. I guess I'll be the only one. Mackie finds sex out in the woods a major turn on. Ouch dude! What was that for?" Dick rubbed his arm and glared at his girlfriend. It still smarted where she punched him.

"I'm not a dude, for one thing. For another, there are some things we share, that's not one of them. Not everything you think has to be said out loud."

"Well, you hit like a dude, that's for sure."

"You can thank Ryan for my hitting skills."

"And those self-defense classes," Veronica helpfully cut in.

Dick gave Mac an inquiring look.

"I took a couple self-defense classes offered by Hearst. No big deal. I just forgot to mention it. I quit going though because it was kind of aggravating my knee."

Dick's facial expression gave way to anger, but the look was fleeting. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered in her ear. If Mac wasn't looking straight at him, she would have thought it was her imagination.

Before she could protest, Veronica held up 2 bags of marshmallows. "Ta da. S'mores time. Let's not waste this fire. It's at optimum S'mores making conditions."

"Saved by S'mores," Mac muttered while grabbing the bag of vegan marshmallows out of V's hand. She then went to work unpacking one of the boxes of graham crackers and the chocolate bars. Grabbing the same stick she'd used earlier, Mac speared several marshmallows and plunged it into the fire. Everyone else followed suit.

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen," Logan started singing with an exaggerated country twang as he roasted his marshmallows. Dick joined in too, singing at the top of his lungs.

Veronica shook her head and tried to hide her grin at Logan's idea of a campfire song. "Don't quit your day jobs." She put the hand not holding the stick over her ear when the guys launched into another round of the song. She appealed to Mac for help, but that hope was dashed when Mac joined in the off-key chorus too. "Et tu, Brute?"

"Can't beat 'em, join 'em, as I always say."

"You never say that."

"Well, I do now."

When all the marshmallows were toasted, Veronica gathered up all the supplies and spread them out onto a blanket to make a S'mores buffet. For hours, the friends sat around the fire, periodically stoking it so it wouldn't die out and plunge them into the inky night. Punctuating the ghost stories and creepy stories they told one another were the occasional hoot of an owl or the forlorn cries of wolves. They ate way too many S'mores and laughed so hard the tears came.

Mac was shocked to find that she was actually enjoying herself. Never had she thought camping and fun could go in the same sentence. Or really paragraph for that matter. But somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered when the other shoe would drop. It was the pessimistic side to her that would creep in, usually when she was at her happiest, most confident. She tried to beat it down, drown it, ignore it so it would go away, but it would sneak up and whisper in her ear anyway. She knew exactly when it first made her acquaintance, that June night in room 419. She'd always had a generous streak of cynicism, of course, but since that awful night pessimism decided to join the party too. She quickly squelched that dark thought as Logan and Dick launched into a haunted surfing story that got crazier and more convoluted as both guys took turns one upping the other.

"Are you catching any of this, Bond?"

"Not a thing, Q. A boat driven by a surfer ghost I think."

"I thought a dolphin was driving the boat?"

"No. No. No! You guys haven't been listening at all. The boat ran over the surfer, who became a ghost who warned dolphins of the dangers of ghosts who drive boats." Logan tried to clarify, and instead earned 2 "you're crazy" looks for his effort.

"Well, you lost us at Dolphins," Mac stated again.

"And surfer ghosts," V added.

"No imagination, you two," Dick complained.

"Too much imagination, you two."

It was nearly 2 AM when the fire finally died down and the chill set back in. Both couples quickly headed off to their respective tents.

Mac and Dick busied themselves getting the air mattress pumped up and then buried themselves with several layers of fleece blankets and a big down comforter.

"So, defense classes?" Dick asked faux casually.

"Yes. I don't really get the big deal. The school paper advertised this 5 week mini-course, so I signed up. It was way back in January. My knee wasn't quite ready for all the kicking, so I didn't finish. It was fun. I thought you'd like that I took self-defense classes, that I can take care of myself."

"Why the secret then?"

"Not a secret. Just an omission. I didn't omit on purpose though, I just forgot to mention it. So, why are you angry?"

"I'm not. Not at you, anyway. I just, I just hate..." Dick paused. The silence grew, filling up the space between them.

Getting tired of waiting, Mac prompted him. "Hate what?"

"Brussels Sprouts. I can't stand them."

"Funny."

"I'm not joking. I hate them. Smelly little cabbage wannabes."

"Alright, duly noted. No Brussels Sprouts. For the record, they actually are cabbages. Mini-cabbages. Not wannabes. Seriously though, dude, what's up with all this?"

"Wait a minute. Why is it okay for you to call me a dude but I can't call you that?"

"Dudes are guys. Do I look like a guy?"

"No, Mackie, you definitely do not look like a dude. But maybe I should do a quick check. You know, make sure all your parts are where they belong."

"You didn't get all the information you needed last night? Or the night before that? Or over the weekend?"

"I just want to make sure I didn't omit anything." Dick smirked at her. "My research is still incomplete. I like to be thorough. It's yet another service I provide."

"What other services do you provide?"

"How about I show you, rather than just tell you."

"Oh goody, I always liked show and tell. But just so you know, you're not off the hook. We're not done with our conversation from earlier."

"Not my idea of pillow talk."

"It's just the price you have to pay."

"Nag. I just hope the pixie spy doesn't interrupt us this time."

"Somehow I doubt that. But why don't you text them? Tell them not to put the interruptus in our coitus," Mac suggested.

Dick rolled over and hanging half off the air mattress, reached over to pull his overnight bag closer to him. He reached down inside and started digging through his tee shirts, jeans and other miscellaneous items. "It's not in here, babe."

"Oh crap. That's right. It's still in the car. Remember? Veronica was charging it."

"I forgot. I was half-asleep. No one ever calls me anyway. Give me your phone then. I'll use that to text them."

"Get it yourself or we'll just take our chances. I refuse to leave this bed. It's too freaking cold."

"Pixie spy who? We'll just take our chances then. I guess I'll have to take one for the team and warm you up myself. Tough job, but someone's got to do it."

Interrupting any possible coitus in Dick and Mac's tent was the furthest thing from Logan and Veronica's mind, too. They had their own coitus to concentrate on. Both couples were too preoccupied with using the time tested method of using sex to keep warm.

Afterward, Dick languidly stretched and then rolled over so he could spoon Mac. He had just shut his eyes and was about to drift off when she whispered "you still awake?"

Inwardly he groaned, knowing where this was headed before she even started speaking. "Sort of. What's up, babe?" He opened his eyes and tightened his grip on her warm, slightly sweaty body.

"Why did you freak out about the defense classes? You looked pretty pissed."

"I told you that it's not directed at you."

"Then who?"

"You know who. I just wish you felt safe."

"This is something all women should know. It's smart. Even without my "accident," without the incident at the Grand, even without knowing what V went through, I would still feel the need to not be helpless, not be a victim."

"Again." Dick said softly, finishing her thought. She didn't answer back though. He waited a couple minutes to see if she was going to add anything more. When it became obvious she wasn't, he added "I'm glad you took defense classes. You're the strongest woman I know." Mac smiled softly at that as she drifted off to sleep. Soon Dick was asleep too.

They woke up early the next morning to the chirping of birds who called the woods home. The chilly, damp morning had crept into the tent, making neither Mac nor Dick eager to leave the coziness of their nest of blankets.

Only when Veronica yelled "coffee is ready" did they reluctantly get out of the bed and venture into the foggy morning.

"What time is it," Mac croaked, reaching up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"I forgot to check the sun dial," Veronica snarked. "I'd say around 8:30. Here." She handed them each a mug with thick coffee Logan had brewed over the fire they'd built. The 2 couples sat around the fire, huddled in blankets sipping their coffee and eating graham crackers left over from the S'mores buffett the previous night.

"This is truly a breakfast of champions," Mac claimed as she ate her 5th cracker.

After finishing the pot of coffee everyone felt awake enough to pack up the camp site and make the trek back to the car. The consensus was that they'd start the trip back home to Neptune, but make little stopovers on the way whenever something caught their attention. It was only Friday, they had time for a leisurely trip back. They loaded up the SUV and were back on the road when Veronica looked down at the center console and saw that Dick's cell phone was still plugged into the charger.

"Hey Dick, fetch." She said throwing it into the backseat one handed.

"Oh thanks. I had forgot all about it til we were going to text you guys last night."

"Do I even want to know why?"

"No, Bond," Mac said emphatically. She bent over to retrieve the cell which had landed at her feet. "Here Dick. V, you throw like a girl."

He grabbed the phone from Mac's outstretched hand and was about to put the phone away when he happened to glance at the screen. It said 6 missed calls.

Mac saw Dick looking down at the screen. "What? You're more popular than you thought?"

"Guess so. Maybe there was a beer shortage after all." Dick joked as he dialed into his voice mail box.

Mac was about to make a retort when she saw his expression as he listened to his messages.

"What? Is everything okay?" She asked in concern.

"No. It's my dad."

**TBC...**

**_Sorry for the cliff hanger ending..._  
**


	6. Chapter 6--Dick Gets Bad News

_**A/N: Once again I'm going to get a lot less fluffy, and a little more angsty. Just a few chapters of this then I'll bring it back to good again. I promise. I will be dealing more with Cassidy in this chapter as well as revealing what is going on with Dick's dad. I took a few liberties I think with the **_**Not Pictured****_ episode. It's not totally canon, I don't think. But I'm twisting it to make it work for my story, so I hope I can be forgiven. So most errors are intentional, some might be laziness though. I got a few more followers, a couple great reviews and a favorite or 2. So thank you, thank you! Always appreciated, both the newbies and the ones who have been reading and/or reviewing/following/favorite-ing since the beginning. _**

_**And to reiterate, I own absolutely nothing. This all belongs to Rob Thomas and company! I own less than zero actually. But thanks for letting me play! **_

**Chapter 6—Dick gets bad news**

"What?" Mac asked, placing her hand on Dick's leg and scooting closer to him so she could hear the messages being played back. Dick held up his finger in a "just a minute" gesture as he continued to listen. Her face was glued to his watching wariness, shock, then anger and a host of other emotions Mac couldn't label flit across his face. She heard snatches, a word here or there, enough for the general gist but no real specifics.

Dick sighed, and ran the hand not holding the phone through his shaggy hair.

Logan turned around from the front passenger's seat. Veronica made eye contact with Mac from the rear view mirror. She just shrugged at V.

Finally Dick disconnected the call. "Well, I guess I was wrong about no one ever calling me." He laughed, but there wasn't much humor in it. "Two calls were from the California penitentiary saying dad got jumped in the yard and then they were transferring him to a local hospital. Three calls were from dad's lawyers, and the last one was dear old mom. Her support was touching. She said I needed to answer my damn phone so they'd leave her the hell alone. Dad is no longer her problem."

"Oh babe, I'm so sorry," Mac kissed him on the cheek and hugged him to her.

"It's okay. Bound to happen eventually. I'm kind of surprised this didn't happen sooner. This is the 7th month of his whooping 1 year sentence." A bitter edge crept in Dick's voice and he didn't bother trying to hide it. He shrugged his shoulders. "Not everyone takes being cheated out of their life's savings very well. Go figure."

"So, how bad is it?" Logan asked.

"Pretty bad, but that's all I know. The last call from the lawyer said something about the ICU."

"Well, what's the plan, Dick? Where is he now? What hospital? I guess we get a hotel room near the hospital." Veronica said kicking into _take charge_ gear.

"No. Let's just head back to Neptune. I can drive up there Sunday or something."

"Don't be ridiculous," Veronica snapped. Then she softened her tone. "We'll be going right by the town, right? And even if we have to go hundreds of miles out of the way, that's okay, too. You're not alone in all this. We are not going to ship you off by yourself to deal with all this. So, once again, where are we going?"

"Okay, okay, Ronnie. Thanks. The prison is in San Luis Obispo. They took him to an area hospital. So, I don't know. That's what, about 3 hours from where we are now I think."

"San Luis Obispo? I thought your dad was just outside LA?" Logan said, again turning his head so he was making eye contact with Dick.

"They moved him around Thanksgiving. He'd given his lawyers some bullshit sob story about not feeling safe in the general population of the maximum security facility he was in, even though those were the terms of his ridiculous slap-on-the-wrist plea agreement. So they found this country club for him. Though maybe it wasn't such a bullshit story after all." Dick explained.

Everyone fell silent.

Dick got tired of all the thoughts swirling around his head. The last time he saw his dad before the sentence began in August. The time where he had asked Logan if he'd tried to stop Cassidy from jumping off the roof of the Grand. Logan's prescription had been to go surfing to clear his head from all those dark thoughts. Dick wished he had a surfboard right now, but that was not an option right now. Then there was the letter his dad had just written, accusing him of being an ungrateful son who could never be bothered to see his old man rotting away in prison.

He remembered when he was a daddy's boy. Dick Senior's mini-me, his shadow. Shadow, that was a nickname his dad had given him actually. He had not thought about that in years. When had things changed? When had he gone from being his dad's carbon copy, his shadow, to wanting to distance himself so much, so completely from his dad, the man he was named after? Was it gradual, a subtle shift, or was it more sudden, jarring?

Dick thought perhaps it was more accurate that the anger had simmered under the surface for years, but the boil over, well that he could pinpoint almost to the exact second. 11:52 PM June 9th, 2006. Graduation night. That awful moment in his life where everything had changed with a thud. A literal thud, as Cassidy had jumped off the roof of the Neptune Grand, landing on a car.

While that was going on, he was trading insults with Madison Sinclair and trying to piss her off by flirting with Shelly Pomeroy. He had not yet realized that his entire world had shifted.

Less than 10 minutes later he'd learned about Cassidy.

Dick tuned out whispers of "shhh. There's Dick." "What a mess." "Dude, could you imagine having to clean up that mess?" He had too much alcohol churning through his system, plus there was nothing concrete to hitch on to. There were no facts to rebel against. So he ignored the whispers, not knowing what they were about anyway, and continued to flirt with Shelly and spar with Madison. Then he happened to look up and see Deputy Sacks talking to Logan, who looked up at that precise second. The look. Dick knew that look, Logan could fool almost anyone else, but not Dick. Never Dick, and never Ronnie.

Logan pointed in his direction and deputy Sacks came towards him. Looking back, it was as though Sacks was moving in slow-mo, everyone got quiet, and the party-goers all parted in the middle leaving Sacks an unobstructed path. Dick knew it didn't happen that way in real life, but that was how he remembered it. A slow-mo movie. The clock on the wall said 11:58.

The deed had happened 6 minutes before, but for some reason Dick blamed 11:58 for the shift his life had taken. It was **The Point **where one phase had ended, and a new one begun. A bold line, and it all started at 11:58 PM on June 9th. To this day he made it a point to avoid looking at his alarm clock, his cell phone display, the clock on the DVD player, the wall clocks at Hearst, anywhere he might get a glimpse of 11:58. Anytime the clock steadily crept past 11:50 he took it as his cue to avoid looking at a clock until it was past 12.

He was dealing with both life without Cassidy and also the painful process of re-evaluating every memory he had shared with his little brother. Well, at least he was trying to deal with it all. It was a little like that Greek Mythology guy, the name escaped him though. But each time that guy tried to push a boulder up the mountain it slid back down almost squashing him like an ant. Hell, what was that dude's name? He'd have to ask Mackie later. She'd know.

Mac, on the other hand, was thinking about shoes. Not in the girly sense of what pair of shoes would work best with the jeans and her favorite black geek-couture tee shirt that she was wearing now. The shirt that read "There are only 10 types of people in this world: Those who understand binary and those who don't." No. She was thinking of how last night she was wondering when the other shoe would drop. Now she had her answer. She hated Dick Sr., but she loved junior, and anything that hurt Dick hurt her. She wondered if he was aware that a tear had escaped his eye. She tracked its journey down his cheek before reaching out and wiping it away for him. Somehow she knew Dick wasn't crying for his dad, but rather was thinking of Cassidy.

Dick grabbed Mac's hand as it brushed his cheek. "Hey babe. Who was that Greek guy who had to spend the rest of his life pushing boulders up a mountain?"

"What? Oh. Um. Sisyphys, I think. And it's eternity, that's like his prison sentence." Mac said. She flushed when she realized what she'd just said.

Dick saw her turn red and squeezed her hand. "Maybe it's better than doing time in the California pen."

"Maybe."

"Sisyphys. That sounds like Syphilis," Dick couldn't resist pointing out.

"I'm impressed Dick," Veronica said. "You actually made a Greek mythology reference. Maybe someone is getting edumacated at Hearst after all."

"Don't be, Ronnie. I didn't know the dude's name. Mackie came on board with that."

"Well, that's because Mac-attack knows everything."

"Yes, I'm well versed in the art of useless knowledge."

"Not sure how useless knowing how to card count is," Logan reminded her.

"Well, all I proved there is I know how to get caught at card counting."

The banter stopped and the four friends went back to their thoughts. Mac noticed Dick glancing down yet again at the cell phone that was still in his lap. It was silent.

Veronica went back to remembering that same June night Dick was thinking about. Only she relived that terrible second in time when the private plane she was convinced her dad was on had blown up in the sky above her. One second it was a blip that was barely visible, then after Cassidy disconnected the call on his cell phone it lit the night sky up in a ball of fire. One second and she thought for sure her dad, her only family, her one anchor in this scary world was gone from her life forever. So she had more than a vague idea of what Dick must be feeling. Yet, unlike the close bond she and her dad shared, Dick and his dad had a big chasm between them. Maybe that made things even worse for him, she mused. Logan had held her that entire night, as she cried herself to sleep. Ironically though, by the next morning it turned out while she mourned her own dad who ended up being very much alive, it was really Logan who had lost his dad. Around the time Cassidy had taken his own life, someone had broken in Aaron's room and shot him.

It was Logan more than anyone else in the car who understood exactly what Dick was feeling. He'd lost both his parents within a short period. And like Dick, he did not share a close bond with his own dad. Major understatement of the year, he mused. Between abusing him, having an affair with then killing one girlfriend, and trying to kill another girlfriend, well no one was more deserving of a violent end than Aaron Echolls, in Logan's opinion. And being a believer in the philosophy that you reap what you sow, he wasn't surprised that Dick Sr. was lying in a hospital bed clinging to life. On the other hand, he hated the conflict of emotions at war within Dick. Feelings were drenched in gray often times, and regardless of the evil deeds their dads did, they were once little boys wanting nothing more than their fathers' love and affection.

Wanting to break up the silence taking over the car, Mac turned to Dick and asked "why were you asking about Sisphys?"

"Who? Oh Syphilis, the dead Greek dude? Just thinking."

"About?"

Just when she thought he wasn't going to answer her, Dick replied softly, "I can relate to him. Just when I think I'm moving on, accepting what happened to Cass, the big rock I'm pushing rolls back down squashing me like a big dumb bug." He absently played with the cell phone, once again glancing at the screen.

"Call them."

"No. They'll let me know if there's any change in dad's condition."

"It'll give you something to do."

"No!" Dick's voice sounded a little sharper than he meant. He softened it a bit, "no." Then a bitter note crept in. "I'm the neglectful son. Remember?" He turned away from Mac, putting his forehead against the glass, eyes downcast watching the road as they sped down the highway towards the prison town.

Mac removed her hand from where she'd been rubbing Dick's arm. She knew he did this, she knew he withdrew when things got too much for him to deal with. In her mind it was just part of loving him, something she had to accept. Logan turned around and caught her eye. He smiled and briefly grabbed her hand to give it a squeeze. She smiled her thanks.

A short time later both Dick and Mac had fallen asleep in the back seat. Somewhere during their snooze they ended up drifting closer to each other, with Mac leaning her head against Dick's chest.

Veronica and Logan chatted in the front seat, sharing a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos they'd found stashed in a bag by Logan's feet. They'd decided to skip stopping for lunch and just go straight to San Luis Obispo. They'd found a hotel located near the prison on the GPS unit, and Logan had called ahead to make reservations.

"How much longer, do you think, Ronnie?"

"The sign back there said 45 miles."

"And how many miles back was that?"

"Two. So it's really 43 miles. Okay?!"

"Then you should have just said 43 miles, sugarpuss."

She didn't say anything, just smirked at him.

Logan started singing "When I was just a baby, My Mama told me, "Son, Always be a good boy, Don't ever play with guns, But I shot a man in Reno, Just to watch him die, When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry."

"Those are nice, wholesome lyrics. What on earth are you singing?"

"Just a little mood music. A little ditty from Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues."

"That is mood music. Aaron was a Johnny Cash fan I take it?"

"He was."

"Dick is taking this a little harder than I would've thought. You know?"

"Not really. He's still his dad. Dick Senior is flawed, he messed up big time. But he's still his dad. However, I think it's not just what happened to his dad. I think this is bringing up more shit with Cassidy."

"I'm sure." But she winced briefly when Dick's brother's name was mentioned, and hoped Logan didn't see her involuntary response. But of course he did.

To change the subject, Veronica reached over to turn on the sound system. She hit the button for the first disc slot and Mike Doughty's rich voice filled the car singing "I hear the Bells." She glanced over sideways at Logan to see his reaction.

"You always did love this song," he said softly. It was the song that played at the Alterna-Prom their senior year of high school. He spilled his guts to her about their epic love and she freaked out and ran. Logan pushed memories of the next morning out of his head.

"Still do. Now of course that we're back together memories of that night aren't so painful."

"We are epic."

"Minus the bloodshed and continents."

"So far."

"So far," Veronica agreed.

Less than an hour later they pulled into the parking lot of a Hilton Hotel. Once they got their room keys and were settling in, Mac convinced Dick to call the prison. The warden told Dick the name of the hospital again since he hadn't really remembered it from the message he'd heard earlier in the day. San Luis Obispo wasn't much bigger than Neptune, and the hospital was less than 10 minutes away from the hospital. Veronica had pressed her keys into Dick's hand before they went to their separate rooms 3 doors down from each other on the 5th floor of the hotel.

"Thanks Ronnie."

"You're welcome. Don't wreak it."

"Yeah, like I'd be dumb enough to destroy your property." He smirked, then frowned when he remembered the surf board of his she'd run over with her old car their junior year of high school. Of course, looking back he knew he deserved it, but it still sucked that his favorite surf board was collateral damage.

"It's smart to be afraid of me."

"I'll take care of it. Better yet, I'll let Mackie drive."

"I'm teasing. Just go do what you have to do. We can meet up in our room around 7 for dinner. Okay?"

"Sure. Thanks Bond," Mac said before she and Dick entered their room.

Once inside, Mac stretched out on the king bed and watched Dick change into another shirt and a clean pair of jeans.

"So, are you coming, Mackie?"

"Of course. Unless you don't want me to."

"No. I do want you to come. I need you."

"I'm yours."

Fifteen minutes later they were at the hospital and on their way to the 3rd floor ICU. Mac was about to head over to the small closet-sized waiting room right outside the double doors leading to the Intensive Care Unit when Dick whispered in her ear that again he needed her by his side. She followed him through the doors and to the nurses station. They were told Dick Sr. was in room 336, it was the only one with a guard in prison uniform standing in front of it. After Dick told the guy who he was and they both showed ID, they were allowed inside the room.

Only one hand was handcuffed to the bed rail, the other one was in a cast. Mac wasn't sure even one manacle was necessary, she hardly recognized the beaten and battered man in front of her. She could tell Dick was having similar thoughts. The nurse had warned them that Prisoner Casablancas (as she called him) was injured pretty badly, of course that was obvious since only severe injuries went to the ICU.

Among his laundry list of injuries were several broken ribs, including one that had punctured a lung, which led to emergency surgery the previous night. He also had a broken nose, 2 black eyes, broken wrist, and he'd been stabbed several places including his abdomen. A shiv was actually the implement used. Mac thought the proper terminology was he was shived in several places. He also had a thick turban style bandage wrapped around his head where he'd been pounded on the ground several times. Whoever had done this to him had planned to kill him, that was obvious. It was only the Casablancas fighting spirit that was keeping him alive. And perhaps the desire to see his son one last time, Mac thought. She touched Mr. Casablancas gently on his right shoulder, one of the few areas of his body that wasn't bandaged or casted. Then she sat in a chair in the corner of the crowded room.

Dick stood beside his dad's bed and leaned over whispering that he was there. His dad's eyes fluttered open. "I'm glad you're here son." His voice was weak, Mac could hardly hear him from her spot on the other side of the small room.

"Of course, Dad."

Mac looked down at her hands, acting enthralled with them, but really was trying to give Dick and his dad some alone time. Dick did most of the talking, since his dad was so weak. But Mac sat up and didn't bother to hide that she was listening when she heard Dick Senior mention that one of the guys who jumped him in the yard was George Pope. The last name sounded familiar to her, but she wasn't sure where she heard it. But when saw Dick's response to the name she knew it had to be someone from back home.

After they'd been there for about 30 minutes a nurse came in and told them they needed to say their goodbyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow, dad. Um, get better."

"I love you son. I always have. Thanks for coming. Goodbye. I'm glad I got to see you one more time."

"We'll be back tomorrow. Remember?"

"Maybe." Dick Senior squeezed his son's hand briefly before letting go. He shut his eyes.

Quietly Dick and Mac left the ICU. They didn't say much in the elevator ride to the lobby either. Once they got back into Veronica's SUV and buckled up Mac turned to Dick.

"Why does the name Pope sound familiar."

"Do you remember Mr. Pope from Neptune High?" Dick asked.

"Not really."

"He taught FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America."

"Oh, that's why I don't know him. That class wasn't exactly on my list of chosen electives."

"No, I wouldn't have thought so. Maybe if they had had FHOA, you might have joined that."

"FHOA?"

"Future Hackers of America."

"Oh, I would have been their leader."

"Probably."

"So Mr. Pope beat up your dad?"

"Hell no. Must have been a relative I'd say. No, my teacher's name was Samuel Pope. This was probably a brother or a cousin."

"It really is true we can't escape Neptune on this trip. First Clarence Weidman's brother, now a relative of Mr. Pope puts your dad in the hospital. As soon as you think you've left Neptune, it sucks you back in."

A few minutes later they pulled into the hotel parking lot. As Dick went back into their hotel room, Mac went down to Logan and V's room to return the car keys.

"Hey, thanks V. Did I interrupt something? Your hair looks a little mussed."

"No, we finished a long time ago. You think I'd interrupt something that fun to answer the door?"

"Yeah, probably not."

"Definitely not. So how's Dick Senior."

"Not good. I have a bad feeling about this. Hey, some guy named Pope did this, according to Mr. Casablancas."

"Pope? Like Mr. Pope from Neptune High? I had him for FBLA senior year."

"No, Dick said it must have been a relative of his. I take it Mr. Pope lost some money from the whole real estate fraud?"

"His entire retirement."

"That could do it. It could very well be a pissed off relative out for revenge."

"Hey, we still on for dinner?"

"Sure Bond. We'll come by your room in a couple hours."

Mac headed back into her room. She heard the shower running. Deciding that was a good idea, she took off her clothes and slipped into the shower with him.

Dick waggled his eyebrow at her and then with the water raining down on them he kissed her deeply. One thing led to another and soon Dick had Mac leaning up against a wall in the shower and was plunging deep inside her. The water was tepid by the time they'd both finished. Quickly they soaped each other up and rinsed, eager to get out of the cold spray.

"That was my first shower sex," Mac confessed as they were drying off.

"Hang with me kid, I'll make sure it's not your last."

"How you holding up?"

"Now? I'm feeling pretty good."

"So I was just stress relief?"

"And what a stress reliever you are. No, you're not _just_ anything. Especially not stress relief. Though it did that duty too."

"Glad I could be of some service."

Dick just leered at her. They both changed back into their tee shirts and crawled under the covers. About an hour after sleep drug them under, Mac became aware of Dick's cell ringing. She made a mental note to change his ringtone, it was trilling one of the tones that came standard with the cell phone. It barely registered. She elbowed him to get his attention, but he just grunted and turned away. Barely awake enough herself, Mac leaned over him to grab it from the bedside table. Not even glancing at the display, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

The lady on the other end identified herself as Nurse Sarah from French Hospital Medical Center and asked to speak to Dick. A feeling of dread overcame her as she once again tried to jostle him awake.

"Babe, get up. The phone is for you."

"Tell them I'm not here." Dick mumbled.

"Wake up. You need to take this call."

Suddenly realizing it could be about his dad, Dick sat up and grabbed the phone. He identified himself and listened to the lady on the other end. About a minute later he told her thank you and hung up. "Dad's dead. He went into cardiac arrest, I guess all the stab wounds were too much for his body to take. They couldn't revive him."

"Oh Dick, I am so sorry." Mac wrapped him in her arms. Suddenly realizing he didn't really have any family left he started crying. Ever since his mom had left him 5 years ago, he didn't really count her. As she held him, she started tearing up a little too, despite the fact she considered herself not to be a crier. But she felt so powerless as Dick let out all the pain he'd kept bottled up.

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7--Collateral Damage

_**A/N: Here you go, slightly ahead of schedule! Sometimes the ideas flow and other times not so much. Fortunately this was one of those times when the muse was kind to me. Thank you for reading! And I had more reviews for chapter 6 than any other single chapter, so yay. Thank you for all your reviews, follows, and favorites, too. Much appreciated. Obviously, this chapter and the next one or two will be also be less fluffy, but I promised you a happy ending (eventually) and I will deliver. **_

_**Disclaimer-Nope! I still don't anything related to Veronica Mars and company. That's all Rob Thomas! Nor do I own any other pop culture reference, song, show, or anything else mentioned herein. **_

**Chapter 7—**_**Collateral Damage**_

Mac wasn't sure how long they stayed on the bed wrapped in each others' arms, their tears merging and blending. She wanted to be strong for him, like he always was for her, but she couldn't stop her own tears and eventually just quit trying altogether.

Dick pulled back a little and wiped his eyes with the sheet. "I didn't tell him I loved him."

"You thought you'd see him tomorrow," Mac reminded him gently, as she discretely wiped her own eyes.

"You didn't think we would though, did you? And I think Dad knew he was dying. As usual I was the dumbass who just didn't get it."

"He held on just to see you one more time. He loved you. He knew you loved him, too."

"You believe that? Truly?"

"I do, yes. I really and truly believe that."

Dick sat on the bed quietly, reflective. Mac got off the bed and went into the bathroom. She wet a washcloth and tended to her tear streaked face. Then she grabbed a glass sitting on the bathroom counter filling it with water and wet another cloth. She brought those items to Dick, who was still just lying on the bed staring off into the distance.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, babe."

He took a sip of water, swallowed, and then said in a reflective tone, "I don't know if I did love him though."

Mac didn't reply, she didn't want to interrupt as he tried to work through the tangle of emotions.

"I think I hated him."

Again Mac stayed silent until the quietness ballooned up between them taking on a life of its own.

Finally, not able to take it any longer, she inquired, "did you hate him, or just hate what he did? Did you hate him or how he chose to live his life? Did you hate him, or hate that he abandoned you?"

"I hate that he tried to drive a wedge between Cassidy and me. I hate that I fell for it. I hate...I hate that he made Cassidy weak so scumbags like Wood Goodman could prey on him. I hate that I don't have a fucking drink in my hand now. Because most of all I hate that I had no fucking clue how messed up my perfect freaking life was." Dick drew in a shuddering breath, and didn't say anything else for a moment, then almost as an afterthought, "I hate that part of me still loves him. Both of them."

"No matter what mistakes they both made, they were still your family. Of course you loved them. Of course you still love them."

"Were. Loved. It's all gone now. I am completely alone."

"You're not, you know."

"I don't belong anywhere now."

"You do, actually. You belong with us; Logan, Veronica, me."

He gave her a half smile and then grabbed his cell which was still sitting on the bedside table where he had carelessly tossed if after learning about his dad's death. He started scrolling through his contact list. "Well, I guess I should call the prison, and then the fun task of notifying the lawyers. Maybe the accountants too. I don't know, whomever else they tell me to call. I've never done this before."

"I'll go down the hall to Logan and V's room then. Give you some privacy."

"Thanks. I love you Mackie."

"Love you, too." She gave him a brief hug and grabbed her own cell phone before shutting the door behind her.

Mac stood in the hotel corridor for a couple minutes, just gathering her thoughts. She absently rubbed her arms with her hands as though she was chilled.

******Room 546*****

"I was thinking we should find an Italian place. I could go for some lasagna now," Veronica said. She was dressed in a white bath robe and her wet hair was turbaned in a standard issue white hotel towel.

"Didn't we just have lasagna the other night?"

"Yes. What's your point?"

"Not everyone wants lasagna for every meal."

"So don't order it."

"Let's just wait and see what Mac and Dick are in the mood for," Logan suggested.

"Okay. As long as it's Italian."

"So, as long as everyone agrees with you, you're all for democracy?"

"My bid for world domination is well under way. Ex-cell-ent." Veronica tapped her finger tips together and gave a maniacal laugh, doing her best Mr. Burns impression.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Aw, there's my constituency now," Veronica announced as Logan crossed the room to the door. He checked the peep hole before opening the door to let Mac in.

"Hey guys," Mac said, her tone more subdued than usual.

Veronica took one glance at Mac's puffy eyes and knew. She and Logan exchanged a glance.

"Ah, shit Q. How's Dick holding up?"

"About what you would expect. Not good."

"What happened?" Logan asked.

"He went into cardiac arrest. Apparently all the stab wounds were too much for his body to take. They couldn't revive him."

"You all stay here, I'm going to go see Dick," Logan said.

"Give him a few minutes first. He's making a couple calls to the prison, and to the lawyers. Then you can go over there."

"Okay. How are you doing?" Logan asked.

"Alright. I just wish I knew what to say. I just wish I could help him."

"There's nothing really you can say. Just do what you're doing, be there for him. Let him work it out for himself." Veronica said, crossing over to Mac and giving her a brief hug.

"I don't think he's grieving as much as beating himself up and feeling guilty," Mac confessed.

"Well, that's all Big Dick was good for anyway, making his son feel like shit. So, I don't know why things would be any different now," Logan replied, getting pissed.

"Look, I'm going to get dressed now. Then Macster and I can go get some carry out while you go over and comfort your BFF. Okay?"

Mac and Logan agreed, and Veronica headed off to the bathroom after grabbing a pair of jeans and blue tee shirt.

The TV was on in the background, Inside Edition was droning on. Mac was about to turn away when a picture of a well dressed man in his mid 40s flashed on the screen with the heading "Real Estate Magnate Turned Con Man Badly Beaten in Jail Yard Brawl."

"Logan, turn the TV up, please," Mac screeched, turning pale.

Logan caught just a flash but it was enough to recognize the man on the TV. He groped for the remote on the bedside table and turned it up. The news story was over by then though, obviously the news of H. Richard Casablancas' death hadn't reached them yet.

"Well, that's just the kind of publicity Dick does not need to deal with right now."

"The media are vultures, Mac-attack. They don't care that Dick's grieving right now. They'll do anything for a good story. And this is a good story, in their eyes. The fall of the Casablancas empire."

"We better warn him."

"Warn who of what?" Veronica cut in coming back into the room. She was dressed and she'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

"News of the attack on Dick Senior hit the gossip shows today. Wait until they find out he's dead."

"Crap! Well, fortunately no one knows where Dick is right now. That will give him a little privacy at least."

"For now," Logan said cynically.

"Maybe the lawyers can feed the vultures a brief statement or something, and then at the end ask that they respect Dick's privacy and let him grieve his dad in peace."

"Yeah, because they're always so respectful of families. That's naive, Mac."

"Not everyone in this room has your experience with being a media darling."

"That's not the term I'd use for it, Ronnie. Media whipping boy, maybe." Subconsciously, he rubbed his back.

Mac opened her mouth to say something else about the media when her phone rang. She looked down at the screen thinking it might be Dick. Instead it was her mom. "Guys, I've got to take this."

Veronica pointed to the bathroom, and whispered "take it in there, it'll be quieter."

"Thanks," Mac told her. She pushed the talk button. "Hi mom," she replied as she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She listened as her mom launched into a big speech about turning on Entertainment Tonight to see more stories about her favorite celebrities. She got sidetracked and started talking about how cute Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were together. But how could they end up with so many kids? She could hardly handle 2. Mac perched on the edge of the tub as she waited for her mom to get to the point of her call. Somehow she didn't think it was just to discuss the merits of Brangelina.

Finally Natalie said she was shocked to learn about what happened to Dick's dad and she'd called him first but it went straight to voice mail. She'd left him a short condolence message but was hoping to get the details from Mac.

Briefly Mac explained to her mom what they had pieced together about it possibly being a relative of a teacher at Neptune who had lost his entire life's savings. Then she told her mom that Dick's dad had died about an hour ago.

As her mom was expressing shock, Mac found herself crying so hard she could barely talk. Finally she calmed down enough to say "mom, I just don't know what to do. He's got so much anger towards his dad for what happened with Cassidy. What can I do to make it all go away for him?"

Natalie let her daughter cry it out for a couple of minutes, and then reminded her that you can't take away someone's pain for them. She explained that he had to do that by himself but he needed support now more than ever.

As Mac was about to hang up her mom said "Hon, Dick is lucky to have a great support system. I'm not worried about him. It's you I'm worried about. Who's taking care of you?"

Mac was quiet for a second. She fiddled with a strand of dark hair. "I can't focus on that, on me, right now. The only thing that matters right now is just keeping Dick upright before the weight of...of...of everything knocks him down." She waited another beat, "and it will," she said quietly.

"If you don't take care of yourself, Cindy, you can't take care of anyone else."

"What is that? Fortune Cookie philosophy?"

"No, my favorite smart ass, it's years of experience as a mom. In particular, being your mom. Keep us posted on when the service will be."

"Sure. Thanks. I should know something soon. I think Dick is making arrangements now."

"We'll be there. I'll have your dad call Dick as soon as he gets home. They bonded pretty well on our camping trip after you hurt your knee _again." _Mac thought her mom put extra emphasis on the "again."

"Great, Dick needs someone like Dad in his life, especially now. I'll text you the info as soon as I know. Tell Daddy I love him. And punch Ryan on the arm for me."

"Okay, hon, I'll give Ryan and your dad each a big kiss and tell them you send lots of love their way."

"No, that's not what I said. Deliver the message exactly the way I said it."

"I'm the mom, remember? Seriously, Cindy, I know this is a rough thing you both are dealing with. Just don't lose sight of yourself, either. Please. Love you much."

"Ditto. Thanks mom." After disconnecting the call, Mac stood up on slightly shaky legs and stretched up on tip toes to grab a washcloth off the rack.

With a déjà vu kind of feeling she once again ran a cloth under the tap and applied it to her red-rimmed eyes. Despite labeling herself as someone who didn't cry much, she'd been doing an awful of that lately. Casablancas men seemed to be the cause of most of her tears lately, she mused for not the first time. Dick's pain, his unbearable loss after unbearable loss was hard to watch. Next to that, Mac felt insignificant, helpless, small, useless. Those were things she did not like feeling. Like Dick, she, too, had a lot of unresolved feelings and guilt about Cassidy. Big Dick's death was stirring up a lot of shit for her as well. In her mind it was hard not to see the major role Senior had in making Cassidy the monster he ended up being. Worse though, she blamed him for making Dick feel he, too, was responsible for how Cassidy turned out. Maybe it wasn't fair to blame a dead guy, but with his son in such pain because of his legacy, well, Mac wasn't feeling very fair at the moment.

When she was satisfied that she'd covered up most traces of her latest crying jag, Mac opened the door and rejoined Logan and Veronica. They were lying on top of the covers of the large king bed, Veronica had 1 arm draped casually over Logan's shoulders. Their conversation stopped when Mac entered the bedroom.

"I take it your mom saw the news about Dick's dad?"

"Yes, she did. I guess we'd better warn Dick it's reached the press. Though by now he probably already knows. Mom left him a message before calling me to get the scoop. It's been on 2 shows so far. Maybe I should reroute all press calls from Dick's phone to mine."

"That's probably for the best. He has enough shit to do as it is. Do you have his password, Macster?"

"Um, Logan, do you even know who you are talking to?" Veronica asked.

"Stupid, stupid Logan," He said slapping his forehead.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about the logistics," Mac replied. "I just need my laptop."

"I can grab it for you," Logan offered. "I'm heading over there in a couple minutes anyway."

"No, thanks. I'll get it. I want to check up on Dick, anyway."

As Mac dashed out the door to retrieve her laptop, Logan got up off the bed and walked over to the luggage rack to retrieve his leather overnight bag. He riffled through it not worrying about wrinkling his clothes. Buried at the bottom was an unopened plastic bottle of Absolut. He removed it from the bag and placed it on the top of the chest of drawers beside the rack.

"Always travel prepared, I see," Veronica observed.

"Like a Boyscout."

"What Merit badge would that earn you?"

"The Good Friend badge."

"I was thinking more like the Drunken Jackasses Badge."

"How about the Coping Best You Can Badge?"

"I'm not sure how much coping Dick will do with his head in the toilet all night."

"Well, it'll help in the short term. It's the best I have to offer right now, Ronnie."

"I know, Logan. It's a start, I guess."

Just then Mac knocked on the door and Veronica motioned to Logan to let her in.

"Well, Dick just got off the phone with his lawyer. They're going to help him with the arrangements." Mac announced walking into the room and flopping on the bed beside Veronica. "It's after hours anyway. My dad called just as I was walking out the door. Anyway, here Logan, take my key card. I assume you guys will lay low in our room until V and I get back with dinner. Right?"

"That's the plan." Logan grabbed the bottle of vodka, ignoring Mac's raised eyebrows. He leaned over the bed where Ronnie was still stretched out. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you lovely ladies later."

"Bye," Mac and Veronica replied in unison as Logan slammed the door behind him.

"Well, we know who will be doing the clean up when Dick upchucks tonight after his BFF plies him with a liquid dinner," Mac grumped. She retrieved her computer from its black faux leather case. Then she opened up the lap top, entered her password and when it was booted up starting typing commands.

"The unsuspecting housekeeping staff who do not get paid nearly enough to clean up that toxic waste."

"True." Mac finished her typing and shut the laptop with a flourish. She loaded it back into its case.

"So, how's tricks kid?"

"I'm okay. No, scratch that. I'm not really doing okay. I'm so out of my element with this."

"I'm skeptical. You seemed to be anchoring Dick pretty well to me. When he didn't know what the hell was going on, you knew instinctively when to hold him, and when to let him have his space."

"Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em?"

"Exactly, you card shark you."

Just then Mac's stomach let out a loud growl and both girls burst out laughing.

"Let's get some grub while the guys are still on this side of sobriety."

"I think that ship sailed already, V. So what were you thinking?"

"Italian. Or Italian. Or maybe Italian."

"Well, in that case, let's go with Italian."

"A fine choice."

Veronica grabbed her purse and Mac placed the strap of her computer case over her shoulder. They were about to exit the room when Mac's cell rang.

"Hello?" She waited a few seconds and then replied, "No comment." After she disconnected the call, she turned to V and announced "the vultures have descended. They now know Dick Senior is dead. I just programed Dick's incoming calls so any number not in his contact list will ring into my phone."

"So I guess that makes you his press secretary now."

"Apparently."

They walked down the hall passing Mac and Dick's room on the way to the bank of elevators.

****Room 540****

When Logan walked into Dick's room with the key card Mac had given him, he found Dick sitting in one of the chairs by the window. He was staring at the view of downtown San Luis Obispo surrounding him, but not really seeing anything.

"Hey honey, I'm home." Logan joked.

"Mackie, what a deep voice you have."

"I heard about Big Dick. I'm so sorry, man. I'm not going to ask if you're okay, of course you're not. But I did bring Vodka. Ronnie and Mac will be by shortly with dinner too." Logan crossed the room and touched Dick's shoulder briefly.

"Thanks bro. I'd say break out the vodka, but I don't think I've had anything to eat since the graham crackers. But after dinner I plan on getting wasted."

"That's a plan. So, I hear Mac's dad called."

"He did. I guess her mom told him. Evidently the fraking media found out all about the beating yesterday."

"I know. Mac and I were watching a report on Inside Edition. Don't worry about it, we'll handle it."

Dick got up from the chair and grabbed the remote from the bedside table and turned on the TV. He flopped onto the right hand side of the bed and Logan got on the left side. Dick flipped through the channels a couple of times until he came to a movie they both agreed on. Neither of them said much at first, a couple comments here or there on the movie or something dumb an actor said or did. But Logan found himself missing Dick's usual running commentary on every little thing. Normally watching a movie with Dick was like being with a child, always asking questions, commenting on everything, changing dialogue so it was much dirtier than originally intended. Well just like being with a child, except for the dirty dialogue.

Finally Dick couldn't take it any more. "Why don't you open the vodka now. The girls should be back soon with dinner. I just need to get out of my head for awhile. I keep remembering last summer, right before dad turned himself in to the authorities."

"Sure. Stay there. I'll get the drinks." Logan went into the bathroom and found 2 glasses and filled them with ice from the ice bucket. He brought them out into the room and grabbed the bottle of vodka. He opened it and poured them each a generous amount of the clear liquid.

"Thanks, man," Dick said taking the glass from Logan. He took a big sip and closed his eyes as the vodka burned the back of his throat going down. Idly he wondered how many glasses it would take until he could no longer remember who he was or why he was at that particular hotel on that particular day. He was pretty sure the bottle wasn't nearly big enough for that task.

Logan took a big swallow of his drink and thought back to the same June night that often haunted his friend. The night his own dad was killed. At first his main focus had been on getting Ronnie and Dick through the trauma they had been through, Ronnie on coping with knowing who had raped her and the fact she was almost murdered, and helping Dick deal with the loss of his only brother as well as coping with who that brother had really been. It had left him precious little time to tend with his own loss. And most of the time it didn't seem like much of a loss. Then sometimes in the early pre-dawn hours it was a loss, one he felt acutely. The loss of his family, of his sense of belonging, though no one could say the Echolls were a loving, functional family unit. Logan knew that's exactly what Dick was grappling with right now.

Logan was still nursing his 1st drink, Dick was well into his 2nd when Mac and Veronica knocked on the door. He let them in, taking the Styrofoam containers were laden down with.

"Our girl here complained about the take home containers."

"I just wondered out loud if they possibly had something a bit more eco-friendly. That's all. I didn't picket, or stage a sit-in. Anyway, they chose to ignore my living green tip of the day." Mac replied as she walked over to Dick's side of the bed. She gave him a quick kiss on his head before nudging him over so she could flop down beside him.

"But now we have hot food, so let's just enjoy the short term benefits," Veronica cut in before Mac could go on a tangent.

Logan dumped the food containers on the round table in front of the large window. V followed him and set to work passing around everyone's dinner.

"Hey Dick, Mac got you Chicken Parmesan," Veronica said leaning over Mac to hand him the box.

"Thanks Ronnie," Dick handed his drink to Mac who placed it on the nightstand.

"No problem. Look, I'm so sorry about your dad. It's never easy to lose someone, especially a parent. But when it was sudden and violent like this, well, that's yet another thing to deal with."

"Thanks. It was definitely out of the blue. But it's not like he's been a big part of my life in over a year, 2 really if you count the time he was on the run."

"Well, still, I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"Yeah. I'm okay though, well, I'm dealing with it."

Veronica looked pointedly at his nearly empty glass then raised a brow but didn't say anything.

Once all the food got passed around it got quiet as everyone started eating. Mac opened the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon she and V had picked up while they were out getting dinner. She poured generous amounts in 2 glasses, keeping one for herself and passing the other to V. As she took a healthy sip of wine, Mac studied Dick out of the corner of her eye.

His face was flushed from the alcohol, his eyes were still puffy from crying. She flashed back briefly to when they were freshman at Hearst. He'd spent most of first semester drinking too much, the pain of losing Cassidy still a raw ache. They'd had a couple less than pleasant encounters in those early days. Mac thought maybe she at least in part blamed Dick for making Cassidy the way he was. Dick, on the other hand, seemed to blame Mac for not recognizing the evil that was inside Cassidy/the Beaver for what it was, a messed up boy who couldn't ask for the help he needed. Now of course their relationship was very different, and those erroneous judgments they cast upon each other were long since banished, however, right now Mac could still see traces of that beaten down boy who knocked on her door the first week of college looking for Parker. When she opened the door to her dorm room, it was as though they were teleported back to the halls of Neptune High, facing each other, smirking and trading insults back and forth. However there was a haunted expression in his eyes that hadn't been born when they were in high school. Years of pain which had formed in just a few months time. Recently though that look had faded, but now in the course of a few hours it had once again been reborn. She had to look away. Just to give herself something to do, Mac choked down bites of her mushroom stuffed ravioli.

Dick, well aware of the effects of alcohol on a nearly empty stomach, tried to eat his chicken Parmesan but it sat like a lump in his stomach. After eating about a quarter of it, he gave up and concentrated on the vodka instead. For now, it was going down pretty easy. And it dulled the loop of images that kept circling in his mind—accusing letters, Logan pointing him out to Deputy Sacks, his dad saying he loved him, clocks displaying 11:58, his dad speaking in front of his FBLA class senior year of high school nodding at him while ignoring Cassidy, the broken man in the hospital bed this afternoon. And though he technically wasn't there it didn't stop him from also picturing that infamous June night when Mac sat huddled naked in a hotel room with only a shower curtain covering her. Each sip he took lessened somewhat the sharp bite of pain he felt from the new loss of his dad, the continuing pain from the loss of Cassidy, the realization that he was the last surviving member of the Casablancas men. He watched Mac take a bite of her ravioli and was suddenly so thankful he had her beside him. He reached out and gave her a quick kiss, just needing the contact, brief though it was. She smiled softly back at him.

When everyone was done eating, Logan hijacked the remote and tuned it to a movie on HBO. It was mainly just background noise though. Dick spooned Mac on end of the bed, while Veronica curled up against Logan on the other. Logan had stopped after his 2nd vodka, but Dick kept on going. At one point Mac suggested they get out the cards and play Euchre. But that idea fell by the way side, and Dick knew he was beyond the point of concentration anyway. He mainly sat back and tried to pay attention as everyone else sat talking and teasing each other. Eventually keeping his eyes open proved too much and he laid his head back on the pillow as the room seemed to spin around on its axis. He didn't even hear Logan or Veronica tell him good night.

After Mac closed the door as her friends left the room, she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into her favorite sleeping ensemble of a tee shirt and boy shorts. She returned to their bed a short time later crawling in on the opposite side of the bed, so Dick was on the outside in case he needed to run to the bathroom. After all he had to drink and how little he had eaten Mac knew it was only a matter of time. Before drifting off to sleep she caught a glimpse of the time displayed on the clock beside Dick's bed. It was just after 10. Normally even the night before an early class she wouldn't go to bed before midnight, but this had been a grueling day.

Dick woke up suddenly, knowing what was coming. The vodka was waging a war inside, and was about to declare victory. He slowly sat up, afraid of making any sudden movements. But that fear was forgotten when his gaze landed on the red illuminated numbers of the bedside clock, 11:58. Almost unaware of what he was doing, his hand reached out and violently swept the clock off the table. Mac was jarred awake by the loud thud of the clock landing on the floor. She sat up.

"What the hell was that?"

Dick couldn't answer her though. He ran to the bathroom, one hand clamped over his mouth. He barely had time to lift up the lid on the toilet before he was leaning over it emptying the meager contents of his stomach. He was dimly aware of Mac coming into the bathroom and kneeling down beside him. He was too busy to register the feel of one of her hands rubbing slow circles on his back. He didn't notice the other hand gathering back his longish blond hair. When he was finally finished, she stood back as he heavily leaned on the tub to pull himself up. Then she slowly guided him back to bed before going back into the bathroom to grab another wet washcloth and a glass of water.

"Thanks Mackie," Dick finally managed.

"Okay," she replied. She waited a minute, debated, then finally asked "what happened with the clock?"

"Collateral damage. The clock said 11:58."

It was only upon seeing her blank look did Dick realize he'd never told her that 11:58 was what he thought of as the downfall of his life. The border, the boundary line drawn between his old life and this current one.

"Okay," she replied again, her tone though indicating it was anything but okay.

"A story for another time."

"Okay," but this time he could tell she was okay with waiting for an answer. She kissed him gently on his forehead.

Dick woke up with a pounding, achey head. There was a construction site shutting down his brain. He groaned, tried to open his eyes a crack and then gave up, pulling the heavy comforter over his head to block out the streaming sunshine. He fell back asleep. A short time later though he woke up again, this time Mackie was sitting up in bed beside him watching Phineas & Ferb and drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning baby. There's breakfast for you, on the nightstand."

He tried to smile but his stomach clenched at the mention of breakfast, until he looked over and saw what Mac meant. There was a bottle of lemon lime Gatorade and a bottle of Ibuprofen sitting there.

"I can't take credit for this. Logan brought over some of the magic hangover potion. For some reason he thought you might need it."

"Just a bit." Gratefully Dick stretched his hand over to grab the pill bottle and drink to wash it all down with. He noticed the clock was once again perched on the nightstand, it bore no visible scars from last night.

By the time Logan and Veronica came by their room, Dick's headache was almost fully gone. Everyone gathered their stuff and went down to the lobby to check out. They decided to try a little breakfast cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo before hitting the highway on their way back to Neptune.

After everyone had breakfast they piled back into Veronica's SUV to begin the return trip. The atmosphere in the car was much different, more subdued, than it had been 7 days before when they'd glanced back at Neptune from the rear view mirror.

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8--Quest

_**A/N: Okay, new plan. Originally this was going to be one big chapter covering all the prep and the funeral and lots of stuff in between. Now however, I'm breaking it into 2 chapters. This is the first part, obviously. I hope to have the 2nd half finished and posted by next Saturday. But I have a big meaty scene planned (I hope reality lives up to my hype, we'll see) and well anyway, the length would probably have gotten way out of control. So here goes, another update, ahead of my schedule. Enjoy. As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, following &/or favorite-ing. Much appreciated. I'd like to thank my reviewers who I haven't been able to PM because they weren't registered-Staci, Guest and Nichole. I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a review. I love hearing from all of you. Reviews-good and concrit-are always welcomed. **_

_**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own zip, zilch, nada. All VM related stuff belongs to the genius that is Rob Thomas. I also don't own any of the games, songs, and other pop culture type references made within this chapter. **_

_**Chapter 8—A quest**_

About halfway through the almost 6 hour trip back to Neptune, the pick-ax of a hangover headache started drilling into Dick's head again. He squenched his eyes shut, hoping sleep would overtake him. It didn't. Finally he nudged Mac's shoulder.

"Hand me the Advil bottle, would you?"

Mac dug through her laptop bag, which in her world doubled as her purse. She pulled out the bottle and handed it to him. "There you go."

"Thanks." Dick opened the bottle and poured out 4 orange pills. He dry swallowed them and once again closed his eyes, waiting for the medicine to kick in.

"I think you exceeded the dosage there, bud."

"It's just a suggestion, a starting point," Dick mumbled with his eyes still shut tight against the unrelenting sun shining through the car. Finally the aching eased. His breathing evened out, sleep draped over him.

As Dick slept, Mac, Logan and Veronica volleyed several topics of conversation back and forth—classes, media vultures, Dick, and Logan finally opened up a bit about the first few days after Aaron's death, when Veronica was in New York City with her dad.

"I'm sure Big Dick's funeral will be standing room only, compared to Aaron's," Logan said. "I sure as hell had better things to do."

"Was Trina there?" Mac asked. She noticed Logan never referred to his dad as anything but Aaron anymore. His confession during their visit to Rachel, Nevada still echoed through her.

"Of course, she was probably the only one who loved him. All that showed up were Trina, a couple lawyers, a few aging groupies, and a director. They were only _mourners_. Though I'm not sure there was any real mourning going on honestly. Except for Trina's big old crocodile tears, and that was probably for the camera's benefit, mainly."

"So the press was there."

"Lurking everywhere. It earned Trina her 15 minutes of fame plus an extra helping too. So, any more media calls, Mac?"

"One more this morning, when we were in the lobby checking out."

"Mac has a new job title to go with her new role. Press secretary."

"That's our Mac, press secretary, card counter extraordinaire, plus Grade My Ass programmer."

"I'm blushing, Logan. You make me sound like a real Renaissance woman. You know, if there were computers back then."

By mid afternoon they reached Neptune city limits. Veronica mused to herself that it felt much longer than 7 days since they'd started their Spring Break road trip. Logan had remarked it would be epic, and drilling down to his definition of epic, it certainly had lived up to that hype. Lives ruined, bloodshed. Spanning years in just 7 days time.

Once back in the suite, Dick, still groggy from his long nap in the car, barely muttered 'see you later' before retreating to his room. Mac followed him, firmly shutting the door behind her.

"He needs hair of the dog," Logan remarked to Ronnie.

"I don't think that would get the boss' approval."

"I don't think, for once, the boss gets much of a say."

Veronica gave him a dubious look in return but didn't retort. She didn't really need to though.

"I know Dick better than any of you. Well, okay, Macster has me beat these days, especially in the more carnal sense, but otherwise my point remains."

"I'm not buying what you're selling."

"Look, we just need to give him a break, that's all. If he wants to go all _Margarittaville_ for a while, if that's what it takes to get through this, so be it. I'll take him surfing tomorrow, but tonight he needs to cut loose again."

"I'm just glad I'm not his liver."

"Why don't you and Mac do something tonight. Have a girl's night. She needs some time off too. Monday's going to suck ass."

"I'll offer. Not sure even if I taze her to get out the door, her head will be in the game. Besides neither of us are the cry-it-out over cathartic chick-flick types."

"I know sugarpuss. You're more butch than Dick."

"Hell, so's Mac for that matter."

"True."

"How about paintball? Or the arcade?"

"That might have a decent shot at working. I'll suggest it at least."

"Well don't discount the taze either, you're quite convincing where Mr. Sparky is concerned."

"Yeah? I'll have to try that out with you sometime," She purred.

"How do you do that? You manage to make threatening me with your taser sound like foreplay."

"I'm just that good!"

"You're good, how?" Mac asked coming into the living room.

"Ronnie can use her taser to make men sit up and beg."

"Especially Logan."

"Sorry I asked. Dick is back on the phone with the lawyers. Tuesday he's got a meeting about the will. The accountants will be there too. Big Dick's service is firmed up for 1 o'clock Monday. V, remind me to get food ordered from downstairs for the afternoon. I thought we could all gather here afterward. That work for you, Logan?"

"Of course. You don't have to ask me. This is Dick's place too," Logan assured her.

"Sure, Mac. Just sandwiches, or a more elaborate spread?"

"Sandwiches I guess. Nothing fancy."

"Ratner can help with all that."

"Okay, thanks."

"Logan and I were thinking maybe he and Dick should just hang out here tonight while you and I go out somewhere."

"Like a girl's night, Bond?"

"Exactly."

"Oh goody, we could get a mani/pedi and follow it up with a chick flick and drink some white wine."

"Or a good old-fashioned round of shoot 'em up zombie target hunting."

"I had my heart set on the pedi, but I guess I could squeeze in zombie shooting."

"We can get our nails done after, Q."

"There ya go. Seriously though, what the frak is this zombie shooting you talk of? Did you turn Buffy on me, but with zombies rather than vampires?"

"No, I haven't turned slayer yet. It's like laser tag but with zombies."

"'Nuff said. Usually you would have me at zombies, but I don't know. I'd hate to leave Dick alone tonight."

"He won't be alone, I'll be with him. I thought, I don't know, maybe he'll open up more with it being just the 2 of us. Or not. Maybe I'm wrong. Either way, I don't think he'll be up for going out. But you two should do something fun. Things are going to get worse before they get better." Logan said, looking at Mac, brown eyes pleading.

"Maybe he will open up more to you. Text me though if, well, anything happens."

"I will."

"We'll just shoot some zombies and then grab coffee at Java the Hut," Veronica assured Mac.

"You buying?"

"I happen to recall someone in this room just won 10 G's this week, and it wasn't me."

"Dutch it is then."

Mac, Veronica, and Logan sat around discussing logistics. Just then the door opened and Dick came out of his room. He absently swiped a hand over his still puffy, bloodshot eyes. His hair was damp from a recent shower.

"Hey guys," Dick said, his voice lacked it usual mocking tone but was more upbeat than it had been the past day and a half or so. Mac was surprised to realize how little time had actually lapsed, it felt much longer than that. Dick crossed the room and flopped next to Mac onto the large L-shaped leather sofa that dominated most of the living area. "Whatcha doing? Discussing world peace? Swapping tips to end global warming?"

"Keeping Neptune safe from zombies, actually."

"You going all Slayer on us, Ronnie?"

"That's what I said," Mac interjected.

"Ack! Now they even say the same things, Logan."

"Aw, they share a brain now. How precious."

"We still have miles to go until we're on your level, guys. So don't sweat it. You're still the _epic-est_."

"Good, I'll be able to sleep better tonight knowing our title is safe. What about you, sugarpuss?"

"For now, at least," Dick clarified. He leaned over to lightly tickle Mac. She laughed and scooted away.

"You look better," Veronica said to Dick.

"I feel half human, at least," he replied. "At first when you said you were going to shoot zombies I got a little afraid, thinking you meant me."

"Veronica knows this laser tag place where you shoot zombies. Not sure how that works but we were planning on going there tonight."

"The Living Dead Laser Quest. I know it. Animatronic zombies," Dick grinned, then just as quickly it faded to a faint frown.

"So, do you and Logan want to join V and I while we kick some zombie ass?" Mac offered, ignoring Logan's head shake.

"No, I don't think so. The Beav-, uh Cass and I went there a few times. I don't think tonight..." Dick paused mid thought when he saw Mac's stricken expression. "It's okay, I actually have a couple decent memories of the place. We can all go there another time, Mackie. I just think I'll stay here tonight though. Why don't the 3 of you go?"

"Actually man, I was thinking you and I could hang here together while the girls go off and keep us men folk safe from otherworldly creatures."

"Okay by me. I'm not the best company these days though." Dick said, sighing.

"I'm a big boy." Logan said. "I don't have to be entertained 24/7. Besides, it's not like you're the best company under good circumstances." He smirked. Dick returned it with interest.

Soon it was time to get ready. While the girls went into their respective rooms to shower and change, Logan stayed behind to order room service.

Dick got up to follow Mac into the bedroom.

"So, what does one wear while slaying zombies?" Mac wondered aloud.

"Jeans, a tee shirt, and comfy sneakers."

"Can't go wrong with that ensemble." Taking his suggestion, she crossed the room to retrieve the clothes in question from her overnight bag. She chose her new Area 51 tee shirt, "Be Smart. Be Skeptical," and a pair of black skinny jeans.

As Mac went into the en suite bathroom to take a shower, Dick stretched out on his bed. He listened to the water running from the shower. It wasn't drowning out the memories that kept circling around his mind. Cassidy at age 10 riding around the cul-de-sac, his feet duct taped to the pedals. He spent hours out there on his bike. Dick, on the other hand, played video games. He'd forgot that memory—blocked it out—until drinks with his dad summer before last brought it back to the surface again.

That whole drinks with dad thing had been designed to cram several years of lost father-son bonding time in a span of just a couple of months, the small kernel of time left before his dad started serving his prison term. Though the goal was to bring them closer together, in realty it had the opposite effect. The guilt his dad tried to share with his oldest son further widened the chasm between them. Logan had tried to convince Dick that the happy hour routine with his dad was a bad idea, but years of programming by Big Dick overruled those protests.

Eventually the sound of water, its staccato beat soothing, lulled Dick to sleep. He was softly snoring, curled up on his left side by the time Mac finished showering and getting dressed. She smiled down at him and softly kissed him on his forehead. His foot moved slightly but that was the only response she got. Mac turned and left the room, quietly closing the bedroom door behind her.

By the time she came back into the living room Logan was removing the covers from the dishes room service had just delivered.

"Where's Ratner," Mac asked upon seeing the rolling cart.

"He just left."

"I need to talk to him about Monday. I guess that can wait til tomorrow. What all did you get?"

"3 cheeseburgers and fries. And for you, a wheatgrass shake." Logan laughed at the look of disgust on Mac's face. "Just kidding. Black bean burger and a salad for you. That's your usual, right?"

"It is. Wow, I trained Dick well and in return he trained you. Impressive."

"Well, thanks to Ronnie, I am actually moldable."

"Who knew?"

"Me," Veronica said coming into the living room. She smiled real big when she saw the cart filled with food. "I'm starving. Hook me up, Logan!"

"Are you ever not hungry?"

"Maybe when I'm asleep. Where's Dick," Veronica inquired.

"Sleeping."

"You should go with us then," Veronica said to Logan.

"No. I don't think he needs to be alone now. Besides I just want to hang here."

Mac grabbed the platter with her black bean burger and the salad, and sat down on the couch to eat. Veronica followed suit. "We won't be gone long. How long could it possibly take to kill a zombie?"

**********At the Zombie Laser Tag Place*************

Forty-five minutes later Mac and Veronica were in the staging area of the Living Dead Zombie Laser Quest arena, strapping on their standard issue vests and selecting their laser guns. After a quick spiel on the rules and laser "gun" safety Mac was ready to get in there and kick some zombie ass. She looked over and caught V's eye roll.

"I can do this in my sleep," Veronica whispered.

Mac was about to respond back when the underpaid teen employee glared at them. She held her hands up in mock surrender. The annoyed employee went back to his lecture.

A few minutes later they were released into the open arena. It was a huge wide open expanse in a re-purposed old warehouse. Reflecting off the black walls and the neon orange and green day glo painted partitions mapping out a maze on the main floor were flashing strobe lights. There were 3 levels of play altogether, with narrow cat walks, ramps and several sets of stair cases connecting it all together.

Saturday nights were reserved for the 18 and over crowd, so Mac was relieved that as she was dodging animatronic zombies she didn't have to dodge gaggles of kids Ryan's age too.

_Low_ by Flo Rida was being pumped over the air waves. The bass reverberated through the massive space, giving it a kind of party-vibe. Her hips swaying to the beat, she crept down the first section of the maze, her laser gun on the ready, the fingers' of her right hand on the trigger, eager to be pressed down and bag & tag her first zombie victim.

Mac suspected if Dick was with her she'd be getting a big old gun safety lesson right now, but since he wasn't there with her she didn't really care about her breech of etiquette, as long as she didn't kicked out that is. She looked left, then right, vaguely aware of Veronica beside her. She wondered if any of V's training last summer with the FBI included annihilating zombies in a reconditioned warehouse. If so, maybe she'd join her there this summer. _Nah_.

Out of the corner of her eye Mac saw something approaching slowly, the gait jerky. Whoosh. She pumped the trigger of her laser gun. It hit the zombie's vest dead center. But one rule that had been drilled into them during the introduction was the zombies only stay "dead" for 15 seconds, otherwise, of course, they wouldn't be zombies.

"Okay, V, one victim down. Get ready to..." Mac started, but before she could even finish that sentence the zombie charged back up. "Run!"

Normally running wasn't allowed in Laser Tag, but it was a necessity for Laser Tag zombie addition especially if you didn't want to join the ranks of the living dead. Mac had no desire to join them, thank you.

Mac and Veronica took off in a sprint, easily outpacing the robotic zombie. They zigged and then zagged around the maze. Suddenly Veronica turned and saw another zombie creeping up on them, freaky with its long red wig, long nightgown and pale white (skull) face glowing in the strobing lights. She shrieked a little and Mac whipped around to look but Veronica was the one that got the shot off.

The game continued like that, they'd plod along the twisty and winding path up a level then down 2, and back to the main floor again, encountering zombies lurking in corners and in a couple cases seeming to walk through the walls impeding their progress. Male zombies, female zombies, even a cat zombie. Occasionally they'd encounter another group of players, and would walk along with them for awhile before branching off on their own again. Mac was really getting into the thrill of the hunt, the feel of "taking down" a member of the undead. It was the perfect way to channel her feelings about the past 24 hours. She couldn't help drawing a few parallels between the death of Big Dick and slaying animatronic zombies. There was something cathartic about shooting a gun, knowing of course no zombies would actually be harmed in the whole process.

While she was musing that over, 2 things happened virtually simultaneously; Mac literally bumped into Max, and then while recovering from the shock of running into someone she knew, a zombie tagged her.

_Target hit! _The automated voice of the sensor on her vest announced.

"Oh shut up!" Mac muttered looking down at her vest. Then she looked back up."Uh Max. Of all the laser tag arenas in all of Neptune, you had to walk into mine."

"I'd ask what brings you here, but I'd say the answer is pretty obvious," he replied back.

As Mac stood off to the side talking to Max, Veronica continued on her way to slay more zombies. As Mac had been "shot" she was easily able to evade the enemy. She didn't stray far though. If this were real life, or a real zombie Apocalypse, she'd have stayed to the bitter end fending off the enemy, protecting her fallen friend. However, now, it wasn't zombies further attacking Mac that had her on alert though. Mac's body language conveyed a certain bit of wariness.

Mac quickly finished her chat with Max and ran to catch up with Veronica, taking a shot at a zombie in doctor scrubs.

As they reunited, Veronica was about to ask Mac about her conversation with Max when she herself took a shot from a stealth little zombie dressed eerily similar to a member of the Neptune pep squad complete with pom poms and everything. Veronica half expected it to break into a rah rah cheer after its successful shot. She rolled her eyes as her own vest announced _Target hit_.

Five minutes later the round had ended and the 2 girls were checking their vests and guns back into the supply room. Mac registered more shots than Veronica but both girls had racked up quite a zombie kill list. They were sweaty but both enjoyed the game. Mac idly wondered if Dick was still napping.

**********Neptune Grand suite************

Logan was on his 2nd round of _Overlord_ and his 3rd beer when Dick came out into the living room. He grunted something unintelligible and slumped down on the couch beside Logan. He noticed the remaining 3 beers sitting on the coffee table in front of him and leaned over slightly to grab one. He used his shirt to twist off the top and then slumped back against the couch again. He took a big sip then sighed.

"When you're finished with this round, reset it for 2 players." Dick said a couple minutes later.

"I can set it now."

"No, that's okay. I'll wait." Dick's eyes settled on the plate with a burger and 2 fries on it. "Was that for me? Or did you just decide to drink dinner instead?"

"It was for you. I left the burger, but I ate your fries."

"I see."

"Fries only have a life cycle of like 4 minutes. Any longer than that they get cold and yucky."

"A life cycle of 4 minutes? You sound like Mackie there with the trivia."

Five minutes later Logan reset the game for 2 players. Dick was already opening his 2nd beer and munching on the cold cheeseburger. He placed the burger plate beside him and leaned forward to retrieve the other controller.

Dick was up first. He ruled over his minions, traversing through the 7 levels corresponding to the 7 deadly sins. For perhaps the first time ever, Dick found himself analyzing the game as he deftly pressed the buttons of the controller. _**Greed**_ was Big Dick. That was an obvious parallel right there.

He took another deep drink of his beer with one hand, the other hand directing his minions onward towards the conquering Overlord. _**Lust **_(adultery?). Ditto. _**Wrath**_, Cassidy. _**Envy**_, a bit of both of them. A bit of all of them maybe. All the Casablancas men, of which now he was the only remaining member. That sucked. He took another sip of his beer. And another. Another. As the game progressed, Dick utilized the corruption feature, so his overlord was classified as really evil. Another family legacy, he thought bitterly.

After Dick was done traversing through all 7 levels—and all 7 sins—it was once again Logan's turn. As he watched his buddy's Overlord rule over the minions he reached for the last beer. He opened it and took a big sip. He hoped there were more beer in the mini-fridge by the bar.

*********Java the Hut*********

"We didn't talk much, V," Mac said before taking a drink of her vanilla soy latte. "You should know that, you were there."

"Just curious. You seemed a little freaked to see Max there." Veronica took a sip of her Irish Coffee.

"Not freaked. Just surprised."

"So this wasn't a planned tryst then," Veronica joked.

"Uh no. Definitely not."

"What do you think our inferior halves are doing now?"

"Playing video games in a state of inebriation, what else is there to do in Neptune?"

"Slay zombies."

"Surprisingly we're not on a Hellmouth."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure about that, Mac-attack."

They laughed, the camaraderie of 2 Neptune survivors.

Over sips of coffee, they discussed the plans for Big Dick's service Monday afternoon. Veronica also made some suggestions for last minute details involving the gathering Mac was planning for after the service.

Finally Mac confessed to her best friend that she'd been channeling a lot of rage towards Dick Sr. on the zombies.

"Sounds like a healthy coping mechanism to me."

"You think?"

"Of course. You love Dick, you saw how he was mistreated, of course you're pissed. It's okay you know, to grieve for Dick's pain rather than what happened to Big Dick."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. You're human. You had to have some vague notion that you are a human, right? With all the failings that come with that job description." Veronica smirked.

"No! Surely you jest." Mac smiled though, remembering how it wasn't very long ago she was the one reminding V of her human status. She pulled her cell out of her messenger bag/purse. No missed calls.

She was about to put it away again when it rang. She glanced at the screen, it was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?" Mac answered, suspiciously. "No comment." She waited a beat, getting annoyed as the persistent reporter kept up the barrage of questions anyway. "I said no comment." Finally she took a deep breath and started to say "Dammit, no fucking comment." Then the phone was forcefully pried from her hand.

"I believe my client just told you no comment," Veronica said confidently, with the practiced air of a professional. She ended the call, and handed the phone back to the now flustered Mac.

"Thanks, V."

"No problem. Try not to let the press get to you."

"Press? No, that was my family." Mac laughed at the expression on Veronica's face. "No, just joking. You should have seen your face though. Yes, the media vultures keep chasing this story. I'm just praying for a big juicy celebrity scandal to break. Something to get them off of Dick's scent."

"Well, this is California, you shouldn't have to wait too long."

Ten minutes later they each put $6 on the table and left Java.

**********_**The Neptune Grand Suite**_*********

Logan continued to play _Overlord _for awhile, going systematically through the levels and layers of the game, ruling over and manipulating his team of minions. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Dick get up from the couch. Soon he was back with 2 more 6 packs of a microbrew they both liked. Dick popped the top off a bottle, took a sip and leaned his head back.

Logan stopped the game mid level, right in the midst of defeating _**Gluttony**_. He smiled sardonically as he grabbed another beer off the table.

Dick's head popped up when he saw that Logan had ended the game. "You didn't lose already, did you?"

"Hell no. I was winning actually. I just got a little bored with this."

"Bored with winning?"

"When it's business as usual, it gets a little tedious." Logan joked.

The conversation dwindled and they sat there for a couple minutes not saying anything, just drinking their beer. It wasn't an uncomfortable type of silence. Logan didn't want to let it stretch out too long though.

He nodded to Dick's growing collection of empty beer bottles. "Drinking away your grief, huh? I get it man. I've done it more than a few times. Every time Ronnie and I break up for one."

Dick grunted at that. Then he replied "trying to drown my sorrows, actually. But turns out they learned to swim." He looked away when Logan flashed him a look full of compassion and sympathy. That would be his undoing, and he wasn't ready for that yet.

Just then the snick of the key card in the door alerted them that Mac and Veronica were back.

"Macalicious," Dick greeted when she came into his view. She went over to him, gave him a brief kiss on his head, grabbed a beer off the table and plopped down beside him.

"Did our boy behave, Logan? Do I get a good report? He played nice with the others, right?"

"He patiently waited his turn, he shared his toys, and drank his beers like a good boy."

Veronica crossed the room to the mini-fridge grabbing a can of coke before flopping down on the couch and curling up into Logan's warm body.

The girls launched into a brief summary of their zombie hunting experiences, and then they all started swapping strategies for _Overlord_. Before long though their long day in the car and longer night caught up to everyone and both couples soon went to their respective bedrooms.

Needing comfort, Dick curled up in bed with Mackie and started kissing her. She responded back and soon they in the middle of making love. Afterwards, Dick fell into a deep, exhaustive, dreamless sleep. Mac watched him for a couple of minutes, listening to his soft snores before falling into a deep sleep herself. They both had a tough couple of days coming up.

**TBC...**

_**LateVMLover, those Buffy references are for you! And any other Buffy fans here (like me!), like most of you I'm sure. Also, the line where Dick said his sorrows learned to swim, that's from "End of the World" by U2, an awesome song. I love that line and wish I could take credit for it. But alas it all belongs to Bono. There's a big empty box waiting to be filled up down below. :) **_


	9. Chapter 9--Working Towards Closure

_**A/N: This chapter covers up to the visitation. The actual service and the gathering afterward will be covered in the next update. Again, it was all getting pretty long. Thank you for continuing to read this story. And also thank you for the reviews, follows (story and/or author), favorites, etc. Thanks to Stacie for another great review, too. And all the other wonderful reviewers, too, of course. And I'd love it if you would review this chapter too. It really motivates me. It would be like a birthday present. LOL! **_

_**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own a thing. I triple checked, but nope, nada, nothing. All VM related stuff belongs to the great one himself, Rob Thomas. I also don't own any songs, TV shows, books, etc mentioned in here. **_

_**Chapter 9-Working Towards Closure **_

The sun was streaming through the crack in the curtains, waking Mac up in the process. She looked over to find Dick's side of the bed empty. She figured he and Logan popped some aspirin, drank a gallon of Gatorade and headed off to surf their troubles away.

Tomorrow was Big Dick's service and she had a few last minute details to arrange. Dick had enough to deal with, anything she could handle on his behalf was one less hassle for him.

Ugh, the clock by her bedside said 10 O'clock. A little earlier than she liked to get up on a Sunday, but as Dick liked to say she was burning daylight. She mentally inventoried what she needed to accomplish, the first thing was to arrange the food for the gathering after Big Dick's service. She figured V would want to go with her when she tracked down Ratner. The 2 of them had had a storied history since they first met last year. Definitely not enemies though not friends either. Frenemies, perhaps. An overused word, but it fit.

Mac reluctantly got out of bed and threw on yesterday's zombie hunting attire consisting of her skinny jeans and souvenir Area 51 tee shirt. She padded out into the living room and saw no traces of Veronica. She dragged herself to the wet bar with the intention of making a pot of coffee, but saw that there was already a pot made. Dick and Logan must have made before they left for the beach. She poured a cup and reached down into the mini-fridge for the half gallon of Soy Milk Dick always kept on hand. She placed a couple of generous splashes into the cup. Settling down into the couch with her coffee, she stretched over to grab the remote that had been haphazardly tossed on the coffee table in front of her. Flipping through the channels, she settled on a rerun of _Phineas & Ferb._

Mac was surprised when 15 minutes later Veronica came through the door carrying a big bag of take away containers from the Neptune Cafe.

"Breakfast!" She called placing the bag on the coffee table.

"I thought you were still asleep."

"No. You're the night owl, Q. Not me. Unless, you know, I stay up all night staking out the streets of Neptune, making our hamlet a safer place to live. Then I might sleep past 10, otherwise, it's up with the sun."

"Burning daylight, blah blah blah, yada yada yada. I get it. So you were my coffee fairy then? Thank you kindly," Mac said, holding her coffee cup up in a salute.

"That's me, a coffee fairy. And when you see what I brought you for breakfast you'll really love me."

"Vegan pancakes and hash browns?"

"How ever did you guess?" Veronica said handing over Mac's meal. "And I don't want to hear a peep out of you regarding the Styrofoam container."

"Geez, you make 1 tiny little comment around here and it follows you everywhere," Mac grumbled.

The girls settled down on the couch eating their breakfast and finishing the coffee. Twenty minutes later Logan and Dick came back from surfing. After changing out of their wet suits and into jeans and tee shirts they grabbed their traditional post-surfing omelets and sat down on the couch between Mac and Veronica.

"Hang 10 dude," Veronica said turning to Dick. She followed it up with the traditional surfer hand gesture.

"What the Frak are you talking about?"

"I'm just trying to speak your language."

"English?"

"No. Surfer Dude."

Logan flashed his girlfriend a "what planet are you from" look.

"Oh come on, I'm just teasing. Seriously, how was surfing?"

"Awesome."

"Zen."

Both guys spoke at the same time.

"Zen? Been crashing yoga classes again, Dick?"

"What? You don't believe I meditate?"

"Not really. I know you, remember."

"I'm a spiritual guy."

Veronica couldn't hold back her laughter at that.

"Well, maybe not spiritual as such but it's the one place I can clear my head. Really see things clearly. So yeah, it's zen."

She quit laughing at his explanation and lightly punched his arm. They didn't have a hug it out type of relationship. But that punch spoke volumes.

They chatted a little longer and the guys finished their breakfast. Once that was done, they both went into their respective rooms to take a shower and nap.

Mac ran back into Dick's room to retrieve her cell phone and lap top, then settled back on the living room couch next to V. She flipped open the lap top cover and turned it on.

Veronica paused in her pursuit of the selecting just the right cartoon from the endless selections of channels at her disposal. "What's on your to do list today?"

"My to do list is about a mile long. I was just going to call a few people from the Frat, my parents, other people who might want to know. Just make sure they know when and where the service is. Then I have to go see a guy about some food."

"Ratner? Can I go? Can I go? Please." Veronica mocked, then threw in her head tilt for extra measure.

"Sure. The more the merrier. Bring your taser for good measure."

"Have taser, will travel. I'll call Wallace, Alicia, dad. They'll come I'm sure. For you. For Dick."

"Thanks."

Both girls grabbed their cells and started spreading the word. Dick had let Mac know the lawyers had put a small obituary in the Sunday _**Neptune Gazette** _and of course the press had run with the story so everyone already knew most of the sordid details.

Wanting to get it out of the way, Mac called Chip Diller first. He didn't sound fully awake but he did sound fully hung over, mumbling something to the effect that he'd spread the word to Dick's "brothers" about the service and they'd all be there. Mac thanked him. She figured that was probably the longest conversation she'd ever had with Chip, and kind of hoped it would be the last.

Mac went systematically down the list, spreading the word about Big Dick's service. As she suspected, most people had already heard the news. She heard bits and snatches of Veronica's calls too. It wasn't long before the 2 of them had finished calling everyone on the list. Dick was feeling so alone, she wanted to fill the service with mourners so he'd see he still had a lot of people there who cared about him.

Next, Mac hacked into the Neptune Grand's employee data base and found out that Ratner had the afternoon shift, instead of his usual night time hours. "Well, it looks like Ratner's shift starts at 1. So I was thinking we could go down there around 3 today."

"You know, you could have just called to get his schedule."

"What's the fun in that?"

"It's what us common folk do."

"Miss Mars, who do you think you're fooling. There's not a common bone in your body."

"That may be true."

When 3 PM rolled around Mac and Veronica gathered their stuff together, getting ready for their visit to Ratner's lair. Neither Logan nor Dick had come out of their rooms all afternoon. Right before leaving the suite, Mac had peeked into Dick's room, he was just laying on top of the covers, arms tucked under his head, staring at the ceiling. Since it was obvious he wanted to be alone, she just turned around to go back into the living room. She grabbed the list of food ideas off the table.

The girls got on the elevator, and rode it to the basement of the Neptune Grand. Neither one spoke much, each lost in their own thoughts. Once they stepped out of the elevator car, Mac led the way, shoulders back, looking confident, looking like she knew where she was headed. It was a lesson V had given her a long time ago, part of her spy girl 101 training as she called it, and the lesson had stuck with her all this time.

They opened the double swinging doors of the massive industrial kitchen. A song was playing on a CD player sitting on a cart in the corner of the work space. The song was one Veronica recognized, _Sugar, We're Going Down_, by Fall Out Boy. Jeff Ratner was sitting at a fold up card table with 3 other guys playing poker. He had the largest stack of pennies at the table.

"Ratner. Aren't you quite the card shark. That must be what, $4 in pennies?" Veronica announced, eyeing his stack of copper.

"Well well well, if it isn't Nancy Drew and Watson the trusty side kick. What karma am I paying off this time?"

"I think you're mixing genres there, Ratner. And I have an order to place with you." Mac corrected.

"We actually have telephone service now. You could just give me a call and spare me the honor of your presence."

"A telephone you say? We wouldn't want you to miss out on our sparkling wit," Veronica interjected.

"Again, I think that sparkling wit, as you say, could be easily transmitted through a telephone wire."

"I enjoy talking in circles as much as the next girl, but really I just want to place an order," Mac said.

"I'm off duty."

"Write it down then, and put it in the system for later."

"Okay, whatever," Jeff said sighing. The guy on his left handed Jeff a pad of paper and a pen.

"Service with a smile it's not. Anyway, I'd like to an assortment of 100 sandwiches or so. Some carnivore, some vegetarian. Chips, veggie plate, an assortment of dips including a vegan bean dip with no cheese. Maybe a plate of cookies. V, do you think that's enough?"

"Sounds like enough for me." Veronica replied.

"I didn't ask if it was enough just for you. I want to know if it's enough for everyone else."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? Add another 100 sandwiches. Those Frat guys can really put it away."

"Alright, make that 200 sandwiches then. You can just charge it to the room." Mac caught the look on Veronica's face. "What? I'm not paying. The estate will take care of it. Unless you want to cover the costs."

"No. Charge it to the room," she acquiesced.

"Good bye," Jeff dismissed them. "I'm all in, Bob." He pushed his pile of pennies into the middle of the card table and flipped his cards face up, 2 Kings. "Take that suckers." His smirk faded though when Bob matched his bet and revealed 2 Aces. Jeff seemed nervous as he waited for the dealer to flip over the community cards.

"I didn't say I was finished," Mac interrupted. "I was hoping you would stick around awhile after you drop the food off to the penthouse suite."

"Like a waiter?"

"Exactly like a waiter. Maybe just kind of keep on eye on things too. I'll tip you real well."

"How well?"

"$500."

"What's the catch? What does keep an eye on things mean? Like babysit? I don't baby sit jackasses."

"I just told you there was a big pile of cash in it for you."

"I didn't say I wasn't going to take your money, Mac. I just wanted to know why."

"Just make sure he doesn't try to leave the hotel complex drunk. That's all."

"Be his chauffeur?"

"Whatever title you want, I don't care. Just come by the suite tomorrow with the food at 2:30 PM. Stay til everyone leaves. Can you do that?"

"Sure. I can spare him for a few hours," the man Jeff had called Bob said. Mac figured he must have been the bell hop supervisor.

"Thank you," Mac told the man. "See you tomorrow, Jeff. Thanks."

By then though Jeff was already totally focused on keeping his poker game alive and didn't even acknowledge Veronica nor Mac. They headed back down the well lit hallway. The basement area of the Grand had all the charm of a federal prison, complete with the white washed walls and worn vinyl floors. Just one floor up, the lobby on the other hand was nothing short of opulent with marble flooring, crystal tear drop chandeliers, and Mac's favorite decorative touch, the koi pond in the middle of the lobby.

They stepped back into the elevator car.

*****Penthouse**********

After hitting the waves with Logan and devouring a post-surfing Omelet, Dick went to his room hoping to take a nap. Sleep never came though. He just ended up laying down on his big lonely hotel-issued king sized bed, arms crossed behind his head, staring up at the ceiling tiles. He had his iPod on and had hit repeat so _Move Along_ by All-American Rejects was playing over and over. So far that's one thing he hadn't been able to do, move along. He didn't think he ever would truly move on from Cassidy's death. But he was finally starting to. Now this new blow.

An hour later? Three hours later? Whatever the hell the time was, he heard the door open and saw Mac peek in.

He was about to fake being asleep when Mac just shut the door behind her without saying a word to him. Her instincts never failed to amaze him. She seemed to sense he just needed to be alone.

His unresolved anger towards his dad had been doing a good job at keeping the grief at bay. Now though, while the anger hadn't been fully put to rest, it had dissolved just enough to push some grief to the surface. He still wasn't sure what he was grieving for though. The loss of almost his entire family? All the firsts he would be going through without fatherly advice? He tried to think of all the fatherly advice he'd been given through the years and couldn't come up with much in that department to begin with. _Always buy low and sell high. Taxes are for the poor. Always double down on 11. _Not the greatest life advice to give your namesake, but then no one could exactly say his dad had been up for father of the year.

Dick was beginning to tire of the pity party he had been hosting in his head for the past couple days. He heard the front door bang open and decided to get up and see what Mackie was up to.

"I still say we move the couch..." Veronica paused mid sentence when she saw Dick come into the room. She and Mac were discussing how to fit everyone in the living room for the gathering after the service. "Hey Dick. Did you have a nice nap?"

"Not really. What are you 2 plotting now?"

"We're actually swapping decorating tips," Mac said.

"And it involves moving furniture? Didn't I hear Ronnie say something about moving a couch?"

"Just trying to figure out how to maximize the space in here," Veronica clarified. "Where's Logan?"

"I don't know. I'm not his keeper."

"We need to send him out for the liquid refreshment," Mac said addressing V. "And maybe he can get a couple pizzas for tonight."

"Sounds good. I'll check to see if he's still sleeping." Veronica got up and headed back towards Logan's room.

Mac scooted closer to where Dick was sprawled out on the couch. "I spread the word about Big Dick's service around to your Frat guys. And we'll have enough food to feed an army and Veronica too."

"Oh, I didn't even think about that. Guess people expect food at these things. Where's the Martha Stewart Guide to Funeral Planning when you need it?"

"That's not exactly a title in my book collection either."

Veronica and Logan walked out of their bedroom a few minutes later and left to get the alcohol and pizza for dinner that night. Mac decided to go back into Dick's room to shower. Dick was absently flipping through the channels. He found a ninja movie and left it on that channel.

Veronica and Logan returned a short time later with the pizzas and 2 big boxes filled with an assortment of hard liquor, beer and of course big bottles of wine. The 4 of them sat around eating a lot of pizza, sampling a bottle of Merlot and talking. At times just sitting there, eating, laughing with his best friends, Dick would forget for short bursts all the shit kicking life had been delivering him lately. Then it would rush over him again, knocking him back on his ass.

Mac talked him into going to bed at a half-way decent hour. She distracted him in ways only she could, and afterward they cuddled, it didn't take long before he was snoring. She then maneuvered away from his arm that had been wrapped tightly around her, and shifted position so she could watch the rise and fall of his chest. This was one of those rare times when she actually want to get a glimpse into his head, see what thoughts were taking shape. Why couldn't you just plug a cable into someone's brain and then feed it via a USB port into a computer? Why weren't people like computers, 1, 0, 0, 1. why weren't they like equations, when you did this and then that you got that? Finally Mac shut her processors down and was able to get to sleep. Strange dreams streamed through her mind, and she woke up a few times. Finally she ended up sleeping straight through and it was past 9:00 when she woke up. Looking over, she saw Dick's side of the bed was empty, his sheets haphazardly tossed aside.

Putting on one of the fluffy white Neptune Grand bath robes, Mac walked out into the living area. Both Logan and Veronica were on the couch drinking coffee and eating cereal. She poured some coffee into a mug and helped herself to some Cinnamon Life cereal then sat down next to Veronica to eat. Before she could even ask, Logan told Mac that Dick was surfing.

"Alone?"

"He's a big boy, Mac-attack."

"I know, but anything can happen out there. Especially on a day like today, when he's distracted."

"He's been surfing almost as long as he'd been walking. As for the distraction, that's exactly what he needs."

"Distraction from thinking about his dad, but not distraction from keeping himself alive out in the ocean on a big piece of polyurethane foam and fiberglass."

"Relax, Mac-a-pedia, Logan's right. He'll be okay."

"Mac-a-pedia?" Logan asked Veronica.

"Only our Q would know off the top of her head what materials make up a surfboard."

"Yes, yes, once again I'm the fountain of useless knowledge."

"It's not useless if you plan on making surf boards."

"Well, if card counting doesn't work out, I might well do that."

Mac tried not to be obvious as she kept sneaking peeks at the clock as she waited for Dick to get back. Finally he came home, hair still damp from the ocean. She got up to hug him, smelling the salty traces of the Pacific clinging to him, blending with his natural earthy musk scent that Mac loved so much. "Logan was getting nervous," she whispered in his ear.

"Logan, huh?"

"Yes."

Time seemed to pass quickly. Before long it was time for everyone to get ready. Veronica and Logan were the first ones dressed, so they set up the bar as they waited for Dick and Mac to come out from the bedroom. As usual Mac was ready before Dick. Both girls had black dresses on, Mac's was longer on her than V's was though. Both Dick and Logan were in black suits with dark glasses.

The car ride over to the Neptune Funeral Home was quiet, everyone was deep in their own thoughts. Once again Dick had queued up _Move Along_ by All-American Rejects and it was on repeat. It made the perfect theme song for the emotions swirling around his head these days.

When they arrived at the funeral home it was just a few minutes before the viewing was set to begin. Dick didn't think there would be a big crowd there. On his way to Dog Beach he had stopped by there to drop off a box of old pictures he'd stashed in his closet at the Grand, it was one of the few things he'd taken from childhood home other than clothes, some games, and other odds and ends. Dick was a sentimentalist, but he was very closeted about that tendency.

He enlisted Mac, Logan and Veronica to help him make a pictorial collage of pictures of Big Dick and place them strategically about the big white board the staff had set out for that purpose. Several of the pictures he'd chosen had Cassidy in them too. The reminders of that too recent, raw loss was coming at him from all directions, he thought maybe that was to be expected though. Earlier that morning on Dog Beach he had been carrying his big surfboard up and over his head walking a straight shot towards the ocean when he happened to glance up right into the expressive brown eyes of a boy who couldn't have been more than 15. He had brown hair, cut similar to how Cassidy always wore his. However it was the smirk the boy wore which reminded him of Cassidy more than anything else. It had been on the tip of his tongue to yell "wait up Cass." He caught himself before finishing that thought though.

Dick looked up at the entry way and saw groups of people coming into the big room. His dad had elected to be cremated so in lieu of a full on elaborate casket there was an urn (though it too was very ornate) up in the front of the room. To its left was the photo display. People started making their way towards Dick, most he knew, some people he'd only heard his dad mention in passing. Mac stood next to him, one hand on his arm, leaving the other one free for shaking.

About an hour into the 2 hour viewing, Dick happened to look up again, his eyes briefly scanning the entryway. He thought he saw the tall blonde figure of Madison Sinclair. He hoped his vision was failing him. In that instance only, of course. He looked again. Damn. Not an illusion. Alice Sinclair, her mother (Mac's?) was with her. Bob Sinclair sauntered in just behind his wife and daughter. Just then he felt a pinch on his arm, that's all he needed to know that Mac saw the newcomers too.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Mac asked. Then she blushed. "Sorry. It's not about me. Of course they'd be here. Well, except for Lauren. She's probably in school now. With Ryan. Though I think mom said she was bringing him here today. So maybe Lauren would not be with Ryan today. I'm blabbering. Sorry."

"It's okay babe. I doubt they'll stay long. This is mainly putting on appearances, Mr. Sinclair is big on that. They ran in the same social circles my parents did, so it's practically mandatory to show up."

"Some darn pesky archaic '09'er rule?"

"Not sure what exactly archaic means, but yeah, sure, why not."

"Old, out of date."

"That's why we call her Mack-a-pedia now," Veronica said joining the group. She put an arm around Mac and gave her a half hug. "Why don't you join Logan and I over at that group of chairs. Give Dick a chance to mingle more."

"This isn't a cocktail party, Ronnie." Dick said.

"Better not be. If it were I should have a Cosmo in my hand right now."

"Dick, I'm so sorry about your dad. We served on several committees together through the years. He had a hell of a good golf game too. An 11 handicap." Bob said, shaking Dick's hand. Then he noticed Mac standing there beside Dick. "Uh hello." His face got flush.

"Hi Mr. Sinclair," Mac said, looking down at her shoes.

"I've got something to tell Mac, so I'm going to steal her for a minute. You can have her later," Veronica said to Dick, then practically dragged Mac over to where Logan was seated. He'd noticed the whole exchange.

"Thanks, V. I really can't deal with any of them now."

"No need to thank me. You'd save me from Madison, right?"

"Always, in all ways."

"You okay, Macster? What's going on? You look like they shot your dog."

"Yeah, something worse than that actually. But it's a long tale, Logan, better suited for another day."

"Okay, whenever. If you feel like sharing, if not, I understand." Logan said.

Mac noticed Madison walk over to where her dad was still talking to Dick. She said something directed towards him, he nodded and whispered something close to her ear and then proceeded to ignore her the rest of the time. Mrs. Sinclair came over to join her husband and daughter. She leaned over to say something to Dick, then put her hand on his arm. However, Mac noticed she kept looking over in her direction. Fortunately, her own parents chose that time to walk into the room, Ryan in tow.

Mac was so relieved to see her mom, her actual mom, the one who raised her, wanted her, loved her. She mumbled an excuse to V and ran to her parents and hugged them.

"Aw, hon. How are you doing?"

"Peachy."

"That's Cindy-speak for not so good," her dad said as if Natalie needed a translation.

"Cindy-speak? When did I get my own language," Mac asked, wiping away a tear that had leaked through.

"You've always had you own language, I couldn't understand half the things you said since you were 12." Sam teased his daughter. "How's Dick holding up?"

"Peachy. With the same translation."

"I'll go talk to him. Save him from his current conversation."

Mac searched her dad's face as he said that, looking for some hint as to whether or not he felt threatened by Bob Sinclair. He didn't seem too. "Thanks. Dick really likes you."

"Ditto."

Ryan followed his dad as they made their over to the front of the room where Dick was still stuck talking to the Sinclairs. Madison was looking around the room, scowling. Dick remembered the old wives tale grandmothers use to tell their grandkids, if you frowned your face could freeze that way and end up with a permanent frown. Idly he wondered if anyone had ever told Madison that story. They should. It would be a public service announcement. He was relieved when he looked up and saw Sam Mackenzie and Ryan walking towards him. Mac was talking to her mom. He waved at Natalie and she waved back and blew him a kiss. He saw her mouth something like "I'll be there in a second to join you." He really liked Mac's parents and couldn't imagine anyone else (the Sinclairs) raising Mac as well as the Mackenzies did.

"Dick, I'm so sorry about your dad. You've had way too much crap to deal with these days. How are you doing, really? Don't give me any BS, I raised Cindy. I know BS when I see it." Sam said, as he embraced Dick.

"I've been better, and that's no Bull Sh-," Dick stopped himself before he could go any further. "That's no stuff," he clarified.

As Dick and Mac's dad and brother continued to chat, several of his Dick's Frat brothers started showing up. They came up in small groups to give their condolences to Dick, but no one lingered.

True to her word, Natalie Mackenzie came up to him a few minutes later, with Mac in tow. She fussed over him for a minute or two. If Dick had to come up with an opposite for Natalie it would be his own mother. Natalie was definitely the anti-Betina. Or was it the other way around? Speaking of his mom, Betina was too busy with her new life to be bothered with him. He'd sent her an email telling her that his dad was dead. She'd known about the beating but he wanted to make sure she knew how things had ended up. Her only response had been: _Too bad. Love, Mom. _He didn't expect her to come, of course, hell he never knew what continent his mom was even on half the time, but something more than _too bad _wasn't asking too much. Was it?

At 1 O'clock on the dot _Freebird_ by Lynyrd Skynyrd started playing. It was the signal that the funeral was about to begin. His dad had requested that song in the will. He'd always loved old, archaic shit like that, Dick thought to himself. He grabbed a seat in the front row, Mac sat next to him. The seats behind them filled up. It was a bigger crowd than he'd expected considering all the trouble his dad had left in his wake.

**TBC...**

_**A/N: Any requests of characters you'd like to show up at the funeral &/or the gathering afterward? If so, please let me know. Maybe in a review? I have a few more characters planned, but I would love your input too. Thank you! **_


	10. Chapter 10--The Funeral

_**A/N: Here you go, this one is a little behind schedule, but the previous 2 were way ahead, so I hope I'll get some forgiveness. And a lot has happened since my last update. I'm referring to the awesomeness that is the Veronica Mars movie, that is. Yay! I'm fairly sure I'm not educating anyone about that. I am keeping my fingers' and toes' crossed that they lock Mac into the movie soon, because I cannot imagine Neptune without our resident computer hacker. And what is the possibility of a real live movie version of MaDi?! I'm pulling hard for that dream to come true. So enjoy this latest update. I hope I'm not too off on the Frat brothers stuff. I also added an OC or two to the mix. Reviews are always welcome. Thank you for reading &/or reviewing, favorite-ing, following, etc...And thank you to all my reviewers for chapter 9, including horsegirl75, Angel, Staci. and guest. **_

_**Obligatory Disclaimer-I don't own Veronica Mars, that honor solely belongs to Rob Thomas. I did donate a little bit to the Kickstarter fund though. That doesn't count, however. I unfortunately didn't hide the evidence of that transaction well enough though, hubby didn't appreciate my support of the arts. Also, I don't own Freebird, Halo 3 or anything else pop culture-ey.  
**_

Chapter 10—The Funeral

As Lynyrd Skynyrd's _Freebird_ played on the sound system, Dick turned around in his front row chair to watch the seats filling up. Chip Diller, Charleston "Chuck" Choo , a freshman named Matt Kassel, and a couple other Pi Sigma Sigmas were in the 3rd row. Wallace, Alicia Fennel, and Keith Mars joined Logan and Veronica in the 2nd row. A couple old business contacts (of course no one his dad had screwed over), a golf buddy or 2, and a couple financiers (but again none of his dad's victims) were there, too. Several people that he didn't recognize, including an older couple in the back whispering to each other. The woman had gray streaked long brown hair and there was something familiar about her, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who. She was an older version of, of...The name still escaped him. His dad had known a lot of people through the years.

Dick turned back around and caught Mac's eye. She squeezed his hand. Her parents were sitting on her other side, and Ryan was sitting on Dick's other side. He had been relieved that Madison and her parents had left the funeral home before the actual service began. It had been weird to see her, they avoided each other as best they could. As he'd told Mac, the Sinclairs really had only dropped by the viewing for appearances sake. Dick didn't have any real admiration or respect for Bob Sinclair, and the abysmal job they had done in raising Madison was just one tiny piece in that.

As the last note of _Freebird_ faded into the air, the officiant started speaking. Dick faced the front and tried to pay attention as the speaker memorialized some guy named H. Richard "Big Dick" Casablancas. The guy the officiant spoke eloquently about did not matched the memories Dick had of his dad. Who was this guy? Why couldn't he have had him for a dad? The funny, charming guy who loved Neptune and tried to give back to his community. Instead his dad pitted his 2 sons against each other. His dad cheated people out of their hard earned savings. His dad cared more about finding a trophy wife than being a good role model for his sons.

"I don't think he even knew my dad," Dick whispered to Mackie.

"Probably not. But then, Big Dick was one to show a different face to the community than he did at home," Mac whispered back. She draped her arm around his neck and pulled him close to her. He responded by leaving his head on her shoulder.

Dick tried to pay attention to what the officiant was saying but it proved too difficult, his mind insisted on replaying memories of his childhood, memories he'd pushed down deep in the recesses of his mind. Things he didn't think he was ready to process, especially not without a bottle of vodka on standby. Instead of paying attention to what was being said, Dick settled for pretending he was listening, as he really clicked the fast forward and rewind buttons of his memories. Cassidy was the star of many of his memories. Dick remembered his father teaching him a new game when he was 7 years old, make your baby brother cry.

He shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories, but it didn't work. The banging of the door at the back of the room caught Dick's attention. He looked back and at first thought he was conjuring up things that weren't really there. Trying to be covert, and failing spectacularly at it, was Mr. Pope, his FBLA teacher from Neptune High. If Dick thought that it was a coincidence that the guy who beat and murdered his dad had the same surname as his former teacher, he now knew beyond doubt it was not.

Suddenly feeling physically sick, he squeezed Mac's hand hard, willing the nausea to go away—it refused to listen to reason though. Dick jumped up, clamping one hand over his mouth as though to keep the sickness from spewing out. He ran up the aisle and banged open the door.

The rest room was just off the main foyer. He made it into the first stall just in time. It didn't take long, he didn't have much in his stomach to empty out. After washing his hands and running a wet paper towel over his face, Dick took a deep breath and prepared to go back in there. As he was about to open the restroom door it opened and in came Logan.

"Echolls, we've got to stop meeting like this," Dick deadpanned. "Did Mackie send you in to check on me?"

"No. Well, kind of. It was more like a joint venture between her and Ronnie."

"I'm fine. Well, fine-ish," Dick corrected upon seeing the disbelieving expression on his best friend's face. "Okay, more _ish_ than fine, but I think that's allowed today." That bitter edge that had been residing in his tone for the past couple days seeped in again.

"There's actually one more thing you need to know."

"What? You're actually a girl?"

"Uh no. Funny. I thought you should know that I saw Mr. Pope sneaking into the last row." Logan's fists were clenched at his side. He wasn't doing a very good job hiding the rage he felt on Dick's behalf.

"Your warning came a little too late. Thanks though. It was his presence here that inspired my digestive acrobatics routine."

"Fine, huh? Want to hide out here a little longer?" Logan offered.

"No."

"Ready to get back out there?"

"No."

"You don't have to."

"I do, actually. Lead the way, Echolls. I'm right behind you."

Logan just nodded and turned around to go back to the service.

Dick took a deep breath and counted to 10, more as a stalling technique though than any real attempt at meditation. He walked back down the aisle with purpose, staring straight ahead, not looking to see if Mr. Pope was still there. He sat down beside Mackie, who grabbed his hand and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Feeling better, babe?"

"No," he said simply. "What did I miss?"

"A couple prayers, a scripture reading and just now the officiant asked if anyone would like to say anything."

"I don't see any volunteers."

Mac knew where he was going with that. "You don't have to say anything either, if you don't want to."

"I think someone should." Dick finally said. "The line isn't exactly out the door. Dad didn't leave behind a lot of family. He didn't inspire very many people. But he did give me life and shit." He must have said that a little too loud though because he noticed a lot of people looking curiously at him. He got out of his seat and made his way to the podium.

"Richard Casablancas' son would like to say a few words, and then we'll wrap things up," the officiant said. He gave Dick a hug and then quietly explained the sound system.

Dick took position behind the podium and nervously gave the microphone a tap. "Is this on? Testing 1...2...3." He leaned a little too close and the feedback from the microphone made him jump back. He laughed nervously. Mac smiled softly at him and he gave her a thumb's up before starting his eulogy.

"I feel like I should start singing or reciting poetry or sh-, stuff like that," Dick corrected himself before a bad word slipped out. "First, thank you for coming. It means a lot to the family. Which I guess is to say me. It means a lot to me. I know he hurt a lot of people. He also raised a son who hurt a lot of people. I know maybe this isn't the best place to say this, but I also think maybe this is the only time to say this. It's like, you know how when a tree falls in a forest, you can't just walk around it, and ignore it. You have to jump over that tree, acknowledge it, before you go continue on your hike. Well, consider this as my tree in the forest. Or something like that. I'm not an orontologist, or whatever speech people are called. But Big Dick was still my dad. He still spent his whole life in Neptune. He married several of its citizens, especially the younger ones. He raised Cassidy and me in Neptune. In the end, in his own messed up way, I think maybe he tried to right things a little bit. At least he admitted that he failed Cassidy. I failed Cassidy. We both failed Cassidy. We both failed each other. I know that Dad. Our happy hours weren't an entire waste of time. Rest in peace, dad."

Dick kept his head down as he walked the few feet back to his front row seat. Mackie hugged him and whispered in his ear that he did a great job and she loved him. The officiant wrapped up the service with a brief sermon and a closing prayer. Then he invited everyone to penthouse suite of the Neptune Grand for the traditional after-service gathering. Dick went through the motions, rising when instructed, sitting back down when told to, and so on but he felt like he'd turned on the cruise control, all motions were automatic.

Dick spoke briefly with the officiant afterward, the funeral director joined them as well. As they explained a couple details to him, he started looking around the room at the groups of people gathered around chatting. Mac was talking with Veronica and her dad, Alicia Fennel and Wallace. He wasn't surprised to see that Mr. Pope was nowhere to be found. The older couple who caught his eye at the start of the service must have sneaked off, too. Logan was talking to Chip Diller and some of his other Sigma brothers. Dick wrapped up the final details with the officiant and the funeral director then headed off to join Logan.

"Chip, man, thanks for coming," Dick said, shaking his brother's hand.

"I wouldn't have missed it. Sorry about your dad."

"Thanks."

At Chip's urging, Dick launched into a brief explanation of what happened to his dad in the prison leaving out most of the key details though. He wasn't in the mood to dredge up those memories any more than he needed too. Fortunately, a couple minutes later the funeral director motioned to the clock on the wall, indicating time was almost up.

Addressing the whole room Dick shouted "thank you for coming everyone. We can continue our remembrance of Big Dick Casablancas at my suite in the Neptune Grand. It's the penthouse suite. There's plenty of food and alcohol too." Dick looked up and saw Keith Mars looking at him, and added "the alcohol of course is only for those 21 and up." Then muttered under his breath, "as long as Sheriff Mars is there, that is."

Dick went to the front of the parlor to pick up the large metal urn containing Big Dick, it took both hands to carry it.

******The Burial—Dog Beach*********

Because of the cremation there wasn't going to be a traditional burial but Dick had decided to scatter his dad's remains in the ocean. Big Dick had not spelled out in his will what he wanted done with his ashes, instead he had said that his eldest son would know what to do with them. When the lawyer had told him that edict, Dick had been surprised. He and his dad had not been close for several years and he was more than a little taken aback by the level of trust his dad had put in him. However, it didn't take him long to come up with an appropriate idea.

As they were all leaving the funeral home, Logan and Veronica swapped keys. Her dad, Alicia and Wallace had agreed to give her a ride to the hotel. She wanted to get a few last minute details taken care of before everyone started arriving.

In the parking lot, Logan located Veronica's Saturn SUV and unlocked it via the key fob. He took the driver's seat, Mac sat beside him in the front and Dick sat in the back with the urn containing his father's remains. He secured it with a seat belt before strapping his own on, he didn't want to risk the contents spilling all over Veronica's car. The last thing Dick wanted was to give Ronnie yet another reason to bitch at him for the rest of his life.

The plan was to have a private ceremony just himself, Logan and Mackie, before going back to the Grand for the wake. He didn't really want company, except for the 2 people that meant the most to him.

Logan pulled out of the parking lot and headed out on the main drag towards the PCH. Turning onto the PCH, they went North for 3 miles before taking the turn off for one of the access roads that led to the 5 mile stretch that was known affectionately as Dog Beach. Logan parked in the lot and everyone piled out of the car. Dick gripped tightly onto the metal container that held all that was left of his dad. Maybe he was fooling himself thinking this would be an easy thing to do.

They made their down the beach towards the ocean, stopping at the water's edge. Dick set the urn down in front of him. Logan was on one side of Dick, Mackie on his other.

"Well guys, let's begin. On the way here I was trying to think of what to say and just like that whole eulogy, I didn't exactly have something written out before hand. That's more something Mackie does. But here goes. Dad, you always wanted to be free, though from what I've never really been able to figure out. Maybe free from your mistakes. Maybe free from Cassidy and I. Definitely free from mom. But now I want to make that dream come true. I hope you find what you're looking for. Rest in peace, dude." At the conclusion of his tribute to his dad, Dick bent down to retrieve the urn. He removed the lid, and tipped it over.

They watched the dusty gray ashes mingle with the white froth of the breaking waves until it was impossible to tell where Big Dick ended and the ocean began.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Mac said softly as she watched the surf take Big Dick away.

"Water to water," Logan added. He reached over and squeezed Dick's hand. "How about Mac and I head back to the car, and you can stay here a few minutes by yourself."

Dick just nodded. He didn't turn around to watch his girlfriend and best friend head back out to the car. He just stared at the waves, watching the white froth of the waves going in and back out again. The salty smell of the air, sting of the spray, seagulls flying above, the sound of the waves pounding the shore—all the sensory input hitting him at once. His father was out there now, one with the ocean. He knew that feeling well, it was how he felt on a board. Like he was a part of something bigger than himself, bigger than Neptune. Only an atom, a nanosecond, an angstrom, just a small, infinitesimal speck lost in the brute force and sheer volume of the ocean spread out in front him.

Deciding it was time to leave, Dick took one last look at the spot where he'd spread his father's ashes and raised his hand in salute, then turned around and headed back toward the parking lot.

Logan and Mac were in the front seat with the car running, the windows rolled down and the radio playing. Dick got into the back seat.

"To my penthouse, Jeeves," Dick said. "Step on it."

"Dammit, Dick, the name is Alfred Pennyworth, not Jeeves," Logan quipped.

"You okay, babe?" Mac asked turning around.

"Let's put a ban on that question, just for today. Okay?"

"Sure. For today," Mac repeated.

Logan put the car in drive and they wound their way back to the access road that led to the PCH. Five minutes later they were pulling into the garage of The Neptune Grand.

*****Neptune Grand Penthouse suite*****

The Mars-Fennel family went straight from the funeral home to The Neptune Grand.

Veronica put Alicia to work doing some last minute straightening and tidying up around the living area of the suite. Then she instructed her dad and Wallace to move the couch over to the far wall to give more standing room. She looked over at the wall clock, it was time for Ratner to show up with the food. Just when she was about to pick up the hotel phone and dial down to Room Service to give him a piece of her mind—and perhaps a threat or three—there was a knock at the door.

"About freaking time, Ratner," Veronica said by way of greeting as she opened the door. Jeff pushed in a rolling cart filled with food. There was another bell hop behind him pushing another rolling cart filled with more food.

"Hello to you, too, Mars. Always a pleasure," Jeff smirked as he doffed his little standard-issue hat.

"Hi. Okay, we've got the pleasantries out of the way. The food can go on the coffee table and on the counter in the bar area. You can tend bar, and pass around the food, really earn the over-inflated tip Mac insists on giving you." Veronica stepped out of the way so the guys could start unloading. She went over to the bar area to gather some plates, napkins, cups, plastic ware and other essentials.

"Who taught you manners?" Keith asked his daughter, an amused grin on his face. He and Wallace were lounging on the couch, resting after the tough job of moving the heavy thing.

"You!"

"Oh, maybe I should have a talk with myself then."

"Tell me how that works for you, dad."

"As long as I don't take both parts of that conversation myself, I think it'll be okay."

"That's the first sign, isn't it, Dad?"

"Of what?"

"Losing your mind."

"Well, that ship already sailed, it's the Mar's curse."

Veronica was about to come up with a snarky reply to her Dad's crack on their good family name when there was another knock at the door. Alicia opened the door and in came Natalie, Sam and Ryan Mackenzie.

"Mac's family! Come on in, grab some grub. We have enough for an army and frat guys too," Veronica called from the bar, where she was stacking the cups.

"Thanks sweetie," Natalie said to Veronica. "Hi Alicia, Keith. So, this is the hovel Logan and Dick share. How many times have you guys been invited here? The post office must have lost my invitation. This is my first time here."

"Okay, Natalie, come here, sit next to me. I'll tell you how it's done," Alicia said nudging her to the couch. "First, you don't wait for an invitation. They're teenagers, not adults. We're not nearly as naïve as they'd like to believe we are."

"While I agree with anything and everything Alicia says, let me interject here," Keith said giving his fiancee the side eye. "The real secret is...Uh, Veronica, dear, cover your ears. Sam, this is actually advice for you. Get to be friends with the security team here at the hotel. They'll be that extra set of eyes and ears you need in situations like this."

"I'm taking notes," Sam said as he crossed over to the bar area. He grabbed a bottle of Bud Light from the fridge and then poured a glass of red wine for his wife.

The Mackenzie's had only been there for 15 minutes when Dick, Logan and Mac came home. The first thing that caught Mac's eye was her mom and Alicia having a cozy little chat.

"Uh oh. Why don't I like the looks of this?" Mac said in a stage whisper to Veronica.

"Be afraid, Q, be very afraid. Dad's ball and chain-to-be is giving your mom all sorts of advice."

"And my mom can be very scary, so that's one person you don't want your mom taking lessons from," Wallace added.

"I heard that, young man," Alicia hollered, giving Wallace a stern look.

"See? She just proved my point."

"I think my son needs a refresher course in the whole definition of scary," Alicia announced to Natalie.

The first thing Dick did as soon as he entered the suite was head to the bar. He filled a highball glass with a couple cubes of ice and poured a generous amount of Absolut Vodka in it. Both Keith Mars and Sam Mackenzie watched him but neither of them said anything. As he turned around Natalie caught his eye. She waved him over to where she was still sitting on the couch chatting with Alicia. She scooted over to make room for him to sit beside her.

"How are you holding up, hon?" Natalie leaned in close and whispered in Dick's ear.

"I'm dealing."

"If you need anything, and that's anything at all, just call Sam or myself."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Mackenzie. Thanks."

"Just call me Nat."

Dick just smiled at her and took a sip of his drink. Natalie got up to get some food, sticking an extra sandwich on her plate. When she once again took her place next to Dick, she passed him the other sandwich.

"Thanks, Mrs. M, um Nat." He took a bite of the ham and cheese sandwich.

"You're welcome, hon. Eat up. You'll need all the energy you can get to make it through the next several weeks."

"Hey, is Ryan here?" Dick asked between bites.

"Yes, he's around here somewhere. I think he muttered something about going back to your room. I don't know, I didn't catch everything he said, I'm not fluent in teenage boy. You don't mind, do you, that Ryan is hiding in your room?"

"No, not at all," Dick reassured Natalie. He quickly stuffed the rest of the ham sandwich in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "I think I'll go find him."

"Okay, hon. Catch you later." Natalie patted his arm.

"Later, um Nat. Thanks." It still sounded weird to call Mac's mom by her first name. He could never imagine a scenario where his mother would invite Mac to call her Betina.

Dick grabbed his glass with the vodka and got up off the couch. He headed to his room, opening the door without knocking, since it was his room and all. He found Ryan perched on the edge of his bed, controller in his hands, playing _Halo 3_.

"Ry. You ready for some serious butt-kicking, kid?"

Ryan looked up suddenly. He'd been so involved in the game he hadn't heard Dick come in. "Oh, it's you. You don't mind if I play with your Xbox, do you?"

"If I did, it wouldn't matter anyway. But no, I don't care. Mi game es su game, or something like that." Dick sat down next to Ryan.

"Thanks. I think," Ryan added. He reset the game and handed the 2nd controller to Dick.

Dick chose his weapon. As he went level through level he found himself concentrating more on the game and less on everything else in his life. His present encompassed entirely of shooting aliens, keeping his shield healthy, checking the status of his enemies with radar and lobbing grenades when applicable. There was no room for grief and guilt, it was a nice feeling. He shot off one of the grenades with one hand, as he took a sip of his drink. Ryan was sitting quietly beside him, eyes trained on the screen, on alert for aliens. The awkwardness that had crept between them after Dick joined Mac and her family for a biannual camp out the previous Fall hadn't lasted long. By Christmas break he and Ryan had been having regular gaming sessions with Mac challenging—and sub-sequentially destroying—the winner.

They challenged each other to 3 games, with Dick winning 2 and Ryan finally achieving victory in the 3rd round. Dick was considering offering Ryan a chance to tie his record when Mac came barging in.

"You boys have hidden in here long enough. Besides Mom and Dad are talking about heading out. Ryan, you need to go with them."

"Are we going to do play-the-winner again? If so, it's me you have to go up against," Dick said.

"Rain check, babe. Maybe we can play strip Halo tonight. But anyway, your _brothers _have shown up." Mac let her disgust be known at the word 'brothers.'

"I'll hold you to your strip Halo promise. Chip, and the rest of the brothers, they're okay, Mackie. Everyone is potty-trained, mainly. They've even had all their shots."

"I know," Mac said dryly. "Vodka. Bourbon. I swear I even saw Diller trying to slam some of that expensive scotch Logan keeps around."

"That's a violation."

"Tell me about it. Don't worry, Logan already practically Miranda-ized him for that crime."

"I didn't miss Veronica tazing anyone, did I?"

"No. But we better get out there, it could happen at any time." The three of them left Dick's bedroom and headed back out to the living area.

Dick looked around, the party had grown quite a bit in the hour and a half or so he'd been hiding out with Ryan, shooting aliens. He didn't really have an estimate, but he didn't think they were breaking any fire codes. He stopped by the bar to refill his glass with a lot of vodka and just a couple cubes of ice. Dick always aimed to have just the right ratio otherwise the drink would get too watery—it was an art really, pouring the perfect drink. He also grabbed 2 sandwiches, another ham and cheese for himself, and a roasted veggie and hummus wrap for Mackie.

Wallace, Mac, and Veronica had staked out a couple chairs in the corner of the room as far from Chip and the gang as was possible. Keith and Alicia were nowhere to be seen, having decided that it was time to surrender the penthouse to the under 20 set. Dick passed Mac her sandwich, gave her a quick kiss on her head and headed towards Logan who was talking to Matt Kassel, one of the newer members of Pi Sigma Sigma, Chip, and Justin, who always reminded Dick think of Corny from high school.

"Hey man, good of you to join us," Chip said to Dick. "Logan said you were holed up playing video games with your brother-in-law."

"Who? Oh, Mac's little brother. Funny. That's real funny."

"Seriously, Mac's got you tied by the balls. Next thing it'll be little Dickie in the baby carriage."

"Chip," Dick began in a warning tone but got cut off by Logan.

"Lay off, man. Don't be an ass, especially tonight."

"Sorry," Chip mumbled, realizing Logan was right and it wasn't the time to lay into Dick for what he thought was unnatural monogamy.

"Whatever," Dick said before taking a big drink of his vodka.

Sam, Natalie and Ryan headed over to him.

"We're out of here. Let you wild college kids do your own thing," Sam said. He gave Dick a big hug. "Cindy said you're meeting with the lawyers tomorrow. Why don't you guys drop by the house afterward? We'll even feed you. Okay?"

"Sure. Sound's good. Thanks, Sam." Dick said returning the hug. He'd been on a first name basis with Mac's dad for the past several months.

When Sam released Dick, Natalie stepped in to take her husband's place. "Hang in there, hon. See you tomorrow. Remember what I said earlier. Seriously, call us anytime."

"Even at 3 AM?" Dick tested.

"Ha ha. When I said anytime I was thinking more along the lines of 9:30 or 10 at night or 7:30 in the morning. But I guess if the situation warrants a 3 AM call, then sure, why not. I don't do well with 'I'm in jail, bail me out' calls though." Natalie joked. She flushed when she realized what she said though. "Sorry."

"No, I get it." Dick reassured her. "You've had your fill with those from Cindy. We know what a jailbird she is, unlike her pal Ronnie, who never gets into trouble."

Natalie and Sam laughed. They said good-bye again to Dick and to Logan then with a quick wave at their daughter headed out the door with Ryan behind them.

Chip opened his mouth for one more crack on Dick's relationship with Mac and her parents when one glance at Logan put the kibosh on that idea. He put his hands up in mock surrender and launched into a story about a party they'd hosted at the Frat over spring break. Dick only half listened though until the end when Chip mentioned finding Justin the next morning in front of the Lillith House, asleep among the Rhododendrons. Everyone teased Chip about even knowing what Rhododendrons were anyway. Dick drained the rest of his drink and was about to go back to the bar when Jeff Ratner came by and grabbed his glass from him.

"Vodka, right?" Jeff asked.

"That's right. I didn't know you played barkeep, man."

"Your girlfriend made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"Yeah? Did it include a pair of cement loafers?" Dick said, laughing.

"How did you guess? A one way ticket to swim with the fishes." Jeff said, then went to the bar to pour a generous amount of vodka into Dick's glass, adding only a few ice cubes.

Jeff handed the refilled glass to Dick.

"Thanks man. This is the perfect vodka to ice ratio. You should go pro."

"Gee, thanks for the career advice, Casablancas. I was considering going into law, but you know what, maybe I should consider bartending instead. At your recommendation, of course."

"You're welcome, Ratner. Anytime you need some direction in your life, I'm available."

Mac observed Dick, Logan and the Pi Sig's talking even as she listened to V and Wallace talk about their parents' upcoming nuptials.

"We have plans this week to look at dresses," Veronica was saying. "It's so weird, but I actually am looking forward to going shopping with Alicia. You guys know me, I am most definitely not a shopper."

"You're like me, born without the shopping gene," Mac agreed.

"That's right. Normally. But, I don't know, I hope I'm not going soft in my advancing years."

"Face it, soon-to-be-sis, you're just a giant marshmallow."

"No," Veronica said, "say it ain't so! No, I'm being serious, I really am looking forward to shopping with Alicia. We're going to pick out my dress and also she said she really wants my input on her dress, too."

"Aw, V. You miss having a mom to do things with. That doesn't make you a marshmallow as much as it makes you human."

"I must stop you here, Mac-attack, no more of that human talk, thank you."

"Seriously though, superfly, mom is so excited about shopping with you, too. She loves me and Darryl, of course. She loves having boys, but I know she's always wanted a girl, too. So be prepared to be smothered by the original mamma bear." Wallace said accenting the "s" in smothered.

"So, when is this infamous shopping trip?"

"Thursday. I just have morning classes. I think she took the entire day off from Kane Software."

Mac decided she needed a glass of wine, so she signaled to Ratner. He was obviously taking his sweet time though, because it took a few minutes minutes before he even acknowledged her.

"What?" Ratner snapped.

"Is this the kind of service $500 buys these days? I'd like a glass of Merlot, please."

"Only because you said the magic word."

"Are we in preschool?"

"Only if you drank fermented grape juice in preschool," Ratner quipped before turning around and heading back to the bar area.

"Fermented grapes," Wallace said. "Yes, that sounds appetizing. That's why I stick with beer, ladies."

"Right, because yeast and hops is so much more appetizing than grapes," Mac interjected.

"Grains. Great source of grains."

Ratner came back, handing Mac a full glass of red wine.

"Thanks, Ratner. You're earning your tip." Mac said.

"Anyone else want something?" Ratner asked, but he didn't stick around long enough to get an answer.

Mac looked over again where she had last seen Dick talking to Logan and his Frat buddies. She noticed he was no longer there. Logan was in an animated discussion with Chip and some stoner dude Mac thought was named Justin.

"Hey, guys," Mac interrupted Wallace and Veronica's teasing of each other. They'd started joking about bunk beds and ponies. "Did anyone see where Dick went?"

"No. Isn't that Ratner's job, babysitting Dick?"

"One of his jobs. Keeping my wine glass full is another," Mac said.

Logan had been discussing a professor he'd had the year before in Intro to Econ when he noticed Dick was no longer standing beside him.

"Dude, where's Dick?" Logan asked Matt, who was standing across from him. Justin didn't look like he knew his own name, so he didn't even bother asking him.

"He muttered something about using the can."

"Oh," Logan said. "Okay." Well, with all that vodka churning through his system that made sense to him.

*********Roof of the Neptune Grand******

Dick pushed open the door that led to the roof. He shivered a little as he stepped out on to the flat surface. It was around 65 degrees, so he wasn't shaking from the temperature as much as the realization this was the last place his brother had ever been. He had a big bottle of vodka gripped so tight in his hand his knuckles were white from the effort. Dick went about 5 feet, then he sank down on the hard surface. He tucked his knees toward his chest and lifted the bottle to his lips. He took a big swallow of the liquid. He'd drank so much straight vodka that night, it no longer burned going down. Or maybe, he thought, he was so anesthetized against the whole thing he no longer noticed.

Anesthetized, that sounded good. He wished the numbness in his throat would seep into every nook and cranny of his very existence.

Dick had not ventured out onto the roof in the entire year and a half he'd lived at the Grand. He just could not do it. Also, he couldn't bear to even look at the area of the parking lot where Cassidy had fallen to his death. Fallen. Bullshit. Jumped. Landed. There was no falling, that implied an accident. The act was calculating. He took another big gulp of the vodka. To people who did not know the story of his damaged brother (there had to be a few people in the world who didn't know, right?), he probably looked odd going out of his way to step around the place where his brother died. He didn't give 2 shits what strangers thought though. Or 3 shits. Or even a shit.

Why the fuck was he on the roof tonight? To be that much closer to Cassidy? To be that much closer to his dad? First, he didn't really think either of them merited a trip to Heaven anyway. But then even if Cassidy went the other way, the roof of the Grand was where the whole tragic story ended. Dick took a sip of the vodka.

In the five minutes he'd been on the roof he'd already set a pattern. Brood. Drink. Brood. Drink. Brood. Tears made their way down his face. He didn't bother wiping them away. Drink. He could make his own drinking game, every time Cassidy crossed his mind he had to take a sip.

His dad taking him fishing when he was 8 years old. He'd tried to get his dad to take Cassidy too, but dear old dad came up with some kind of story that ended with Cass being left home with their mom. Again. He took a big sip of vodka.

Bikes. Cul de sac. Duct tape. Video games. Cassidy being left alone for hours. Drink!

His birthday present, a big beautiful purebred puppy. Cassidy's birthday present, a fishing pole. Cassidy was never allowed to go fishing with them. Drink! Drink!

Winner. He was definitely wining at his own game of brooding and drinking. Though there were no true winners. His dad was still dead. His brother was still dead. He failed Cassidy. He'd failed a lot of people. Drink!

******Penthouse suite******

"So nobody saw Dick leave?" Veronica asked. She was looking at Logan, but really the question was directed at everyone who had been talking to Dick.

"No. Well, wait. He did head toward the bar." The Matt kid said.

"Was Ratner there, mixing drinks?"

"I don't know. I just saw him go in that general direction." Matt clarified.

Everyone had at first assumed Dick was in his room using the bathroom. Mac had waited 10 minutes, but after there was still no sign of him, she started to get worried. She feared he'd passed out. She finally excused herself and headed off to his room. He wasn't lying on the bed. She checked the bathroom next. No sign of him. Mac was glad he wasn't passed out by the toilet but that still didn't give her any idea where he'd gone off to. Her biggest fear was that he'd get behind the wheel of his truck in his less than sober state. She suspected that he'd want to get closer to Cassidy tonight, and being that the dead didn't come to you, he'd have to go to his brother.

She'd come out and told Veronica she couldn't find any trace of Dick. One look at her friend told her they were sharing the same fear.

Veronica launched right into pixy spy mode. After wasting her time with the frat guys and their "whole lotta nuttin," she headed over to interrogate Ratner. Unfortunately, she quickly established that he was busy giving Mac her wine when Dick made his getaway.

Veronica was in the middle of reassuring Mac that they'd find Dick and he'd be okay when she suddenly got a strong feeling that she knew where he was. She attributed it to her finely honed detecting skills and also a heavy dose of intuition too.

"Sweetie, hang in there. I think I know where to find Dick. Just stay here. I'll be right back, and if I'm right, Dick will be with me." Veronica hugged Mac, and then once she released her, she signaled to Logan to come over.

"What?"

"Logan, stay here with Mac, please."

"No problem." Logan said. He guided Mac over to the couch, Wallace followed behind.

Veronica headed out the door of the suite.

*******Roof of the Neptune Grand*****

Shelley Pomroys' party. Drink.

Making fun of his brother and Mac the night of graduation. Drink. Drink. Drink. Drink.

The door behind him banged open. Dick paused mid-sip. "Go away," he said loudly, not even bothering to see who was there with him.

"You don't own the place. Well, unless you bought it and I didn't even know it. Which with you damn '09ers is entirely possible."

"Ronnie. What brings you to my pity party?"

"I was actually thinking of hosting my own pity party. I didn't realize yours was a private affair."

"Well now you do. So go away."

"Mac is getting worried. She really loves you," Veronica said softly. She sat down next to Dick, but didn't touch him, except for the brief contact of her hand brushing his as she took the bottle away from him. He was half-expecting a lecture but was surprised when she put the bottle to her lips and took a sip. "Man, this stuff burns going down."

"How did you know I was up here? I didn't even plan to come, I just kind of found myself drawn here, almost like a force was guiding me. Except that's the vodka talking."

"You haven't been up here since Cassidy, have you?"

"No. I'm guessing you haven't either, have you Ronnie?"

"No. I just couldn't bear to."

"You don't have to be here now, you know. I won't jump or anything." Dick said. He saw her turn pale when he said that. It was her turn to shiver.

"I know you won't. I didn't think that for a nanosecond, Dick."

"I guess I was the strong brother. Though I am not that right now."

"Of course you are. You are the only one left in your family now, and you're not crumbling under the weight of it all."

"But I am, actually."

"No. You're not crumbling. You're trying to cope the best you can. But you are most definitely still standing."

They started passing the vodka bottle back and forth, trading sips.

Finally Dick broke the silence that had set in. "Why don't you hate me?" He said it so softly Veronica was tempted to pretend like she didn't hear him.

Finally she said "I had to work at it."

"It?"

"Not hating you."

"Why? I mean why did you bother working at it?"

"You're Logan's best friend. My best friend is in love with you. They are both excellent judges of character. You have to have something decent inside."

"Buried deep inside?"

"You said it, Dick, not me. But yes, way deep down inside."

"So, do you like me now?"

"Would you settle for tolerate?"

"Is that the best I'm going to get?"

"Yes. No. I'm joking. I do like you, most days."

"Every other day?"

"I'd say that's probably fair," Veronica said, trying to hide her smile. "Seriously though, most days I know you didn't really think for one second that your brother would, that Cassidy would, you know, do that while I was unconscious. As for you, you make colossally stupid decisions, but you're not mean. You're not evil. I know that, I've never wavered in that knowledge."

"Veronica?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think I can take it on this roof another minute. I don't know what I expected, but I don't think it's going to bring much in the way of closure."

"I don't know if true closure actually exists. Sorry, Dick, but that's the cold, hard, sucky ass truth of it all. But time is the only thing that dulls the pain."

Dick stood up, though really it was more of a lurch with all the alcohol sloshing around inside. Then he extended a hand out to help Veronica launch herself up too.

Together they left the roof and slowly, carefully took the stairs down to the top floor of the hotel.

As soon as she heard the snick of the key card, Mac ran to the door to let them in. She threw herself into Dick's arms.

"You okay?" Mac mumbled into his chest. "Oh, opps. Sorry. I was banned from asking that question."

"It's okay. I'll overlook it this time. I'm decent. If the room would ever stop spinning though, I think I'm ready for that strip Halo game though."

Mac laughed and gave him a big kiss. "I love you."

"Ditto."

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11--Still Going Margaritaville

_**A/N: I'm baaaack! Or rather, this story is back. Still remember it? I hope so. My apologies for being so far behind in updating this. Real life intervened in a brutal way. In the middle of writing this chapter my real life started to imitate this "art" and that made it harder for me to find motivation for awhile. But anyway I eventually found my motivation and got this chapter written and I've still got a lot of things planned for this story, so thanks for bearing with me. As always, wonderful readers, thank you for reading, for reviewing, for favorite-ing, and for following. I'd also like to give a shout-out to my chapter 10 reviewers who I wasn't able to PM-Staci and Guest. Thank you!  
**_

_**Obligatory disclaimer-I don't own Veronica Mars, that's all on Rob Thomas. I'm green with envy. I also don't own Margaritaville, Pepto-Bismol, beer pong. beat poets and all the other pop-culturey things mentioned in here. Enjoy...  
**_

**Chapter 11—****Still Going **_**Margaritaville**_

*******Student Union*******_**  
**_

In the 2 ½ weeks since Big Dick's funeral things had somewhat settled back into normalcy. Well, as normal, that is, as life gets in college, especially when said college is in Neptune, CA.

"All work and no play makes Mac a boring girl," Veronica said as she set down the tray with her chicken stir fry and eased herself in the chair next to Mac. The student union was busy, as it usually was at noon. She had been glad to spot her friend in one of the tables in the back of the bustling place.

"All play and no work makes Mac a college drop out," Mac said automatically, not taking her eye's off the microeconomics textbook she was pouring over. "Besides my inferior half, as you like to call him, has been playing enough lately for the both of us." Mac lifted her head up just enough to take a sip of her vanilla soy latte before burying it back into her book.

"Could it be that there is actually a class that has my Mac-a-pedia stumped?" Veronica asked, using the new nickname she recently bestowed on Mac, inspired by her habit of knowing useless trivia.

"Apparently. And thy name is Intro to Microeconomics."

"So, how bad did you do on midterms? C?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"No."

"D?"

"No."

"F?"

"B."

"You have issues," Veronica said. "You know that, right?"

"It's almost a B-," Mac defended. "Barely above a C. It's a gateway grade."

"Issues."

"Besides, it's not like I have anything better to do these days," Mac confessed, her voice soft. She placed a pen in the book as a place saver and shut the textbook.

"Things that bad with Dick?" Veronica asked, surprised.

"Well, no. Not like that. It's just he's, well, being the same old Dick we saw last year, after Cassidy died." Mac said. She hesitated even saying it around Veronica, she absolutely hated the flash of pain that the merest mention of Cassidy's name brought out. It was just barely a flinch, but Mac knew to look for it. She reached out and gave V's hand a brief squeeze. "He's been hell bent on proving his party theorem correct."

"Party theorem?"

"If you walk in a straight line down the center of campus sooner or later you'll find a party. So far all his research has been showing it to be a sound hypothesis."

"Well, I'm glad Dick is applying himself, Mac."

"Not to change the subject or anything, because I just love hearing all about my issues, but how did shopping with Alicia go?"

"Don't worry, we can always table that topic for another time. As for shopping, well, the bridesmaids dresses don't have hoop skirts, so it was very productive in that regard. Actually, it was fun. We made a whole day of it. You should see Alicia's dress. It's gorgeous. I feel all yucky, dirty and girly even saying this." Veronica pinched up her face as if she bit into something sour.

"Is this where I remind you that you are, in fact, a girl?" Mac asked dryly. "So, what does this dress look like?"

"It's ivory, and off the shoulders. It's past the knees, so it's not in mini-territory, but it doesn't trail the floor either. It's really more of a cocktail dress than a traditional wedding gown, but it's beautiful. Classy. Dad will love it." Veronica couldn't hide the dreamy expression on her face.

"Sounds gorgeous. So what about your non-hoop skirt bridesmaids dress? What does it look like? Pepto-Bismol pink, I hope." Mac joked. "Maybe some ruffle sleeves."

"Nope, sorry. I drew the line at pink. It's lavender, and very plain, simple. No ruffles, it's sleeveless, actually." Veronica smiled softly thinking of her own dress but mainly just the bonding she and Alicia did. It was nice have a mother-like figure in her life again, someone who could actually handle that job description. Her own mom had failed spectacularly at the whole mothering gig.

"Sounds pretty," Mac said. "For a bridesmaid's dress," she quickly clarified.

"It's pretty for any dress. _If_ I get married though, I will pick out ruffle-sleeved, hoop skirt, Pepto-Bismol pink dresses for my bridesmaids," Veronica said. "Just for you, kid." She put an emphasis on the word "if."

"Sorry, V, I'm busy that day," she said smirking.

"Where's the love?"

"I love you, I just love my self-respect more," Mac quipped.

"Maybe the hoop skirt part is negotiable," Veronica relented, "and the Pepto-Bismol pink, too."

"In that case I might be able to squeeze you in, between stealing state secrets and making evil dictators sit up and beg, of course."

"Naturally."

Conversation quieted down as Veronica started eating her stir fry and Mac opened her book, trying to focus once again on learning economic principles and theorems. She wasn't very successful in that endeavor though, thoughts of Dick kept edging out concepts such as elasticity of demand, marginal utility, and market equilibrium. She sighed heavily.

Veronica finished swallowing the bite of food she'd just put in her mouth. "Just not feeling very economic today, I take it?"

"Not feeling very competent in the girlfriend arena these days," Mac confessed. "I'm probably over-reacting but I swear he's drifting away."

This time it was Veronica's turn to reach out and squeeze Mac's hand in comfort. "Dick's not known for handling feelings in the most productive of manners. Plus he's had a lot of things to deal with lately. It's enough to even make a sane person go a little crazy. Besides, he might not be Mensa material but even Dick knows you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. I don't think he's drifting away from you so much as just trying to cope the only way he knows how—badly. Just give him some time. Bury your head in economic textbooks and drown your sorrows in soy lattes."

"Gee, why didn't I think of that, V? Maybe you should be a PI."

"What a good idea. Now if only I could find a Q to compliment my Bond."

"Speaking of which," Mac said cutting in, "we never did have that meeting at Mars Investigations. Did you find any cases that require some hacking?"

"Always. This is the computer age, don't they teach you anything in those computer classes you insist on filling your days with?"

"Not really. I just dig out my Abacus to solve complex equations and chisel notes on my stone tablet," Mac sassed.

"Abacus, good one," Veronica praised. "I can pass you a couple files tomorrow. Or actually I can give them to you tonight. Why don't you and Dick join Logan and me at Java tonight around 9:30. You can even bring your Econ textbook, and don't forget that Abacus. I promised Dad I'd drop by around 3:30 to man the office while he meets with a client off site. You could come with me."

"No thanks. I have a 3 o'clock class. Dick has one in the same building, I usually see him afterward. But I'd love to join you and Logan at Java. I'll tell Dick about our plans for tonight. I'm sure he'll join us, too" Mac said.

"It's a date," Veronica said cheerfully.

Mac was quiet for a moment and then said thoughtfully "shouldn't it be woman the office?"

Veronica just looked at her funny for a couple seconds then shook her head. "No."

"You're obviously not a man, so why should a woman be expected to man an office."

"Aren't you late for your Lilith House meeting, Mac-Attack?" she quipped.

"It's just that it's such a man's world. Man this. Man that. When do you hear a man say he's going to woman something? You don't."

"Sometimes you just have to take things at face value and not assign too much deeper meaning to it." Veronica said. On the surface it seemed like she was responding to Mac's "manning"comment but it applied equally well to the relationship fears.

Mac flashed her a look that said the message was received loud and clear.

Veronica finished her stir fry and then left so she could go to her 1 o'clock Mass Communications class. Leaving her textbook on the table, Mac followed Veronica through the still crowded union until she reached the lunch counter. After parting ways, Mac grabbed a bottled water, a salad and black bean wrap and waited not-so-patiently in the check out line. After paying for her purchases she made her way back to her table. She cracked open her book once again, perusing a chapter as she nibbled on her wrap and made her way through the salad. She took her yellow highlighter out of her black messenger bag and highlighted a couple key concepts.

Mac stayed buried in her textbook until it was almost time for Microeconomics. She jogged over to the Mathematics building on the other side of the quad. She was slightly out of breath by the time she took a seat in the 3rd row of the big classroom.

Her extra long cram session had paid off though because as the middle aged, mousy looking instructor droned on, Mac found that most of what came out of her mouth actually begun to make a little bit more sense. Some of the self-confidence that had begun to come back waned again though after Mac skimmed the homework assignment the instructor put on the white board; read 3 chapters and do 15 review problems.

Finally class was over. Mac walked out with a guy she knew vaguely from a computer programming class she'd taken the previous semester. She laughed at a joke he made about their instructor, as she was about to retort she felt someone watching her. Dick was on the other side of the hall, leaning against the wall, observing. She mumbled good bye to her classmate and walked over to Dick and gave him a hug.

"Hi babe. How was class?"

"Boring. How was yours?" Dick inquired, hugging her back.

"Pretty good. I might learn this stuff after all."

"Of that I have no doubt," he said reassuringly. "Since you're done for the day walk me to my last class."

"Can I carry your books, too?" Mac sassed.

"Thought you'd never ask. These books get heavy. I might break a sweat. Or worse, a nail." Dick joked back in his best high-pitched female voice which wasn't very convincing. He handed her his backpack a little more forcefully than he'd meant to. Mac stumbled back slightly before gaining purchase.

"What the hell do you have in here? Rocks?" Mac grumped.

"Funny you should say that. I do have a geology textbook in here and a few other odds and ends required for this higher learning establishment."

As they walked over to the science building Mac told Dick about Veronica's invitation.

"I have a meeting at the Pi Sig house tonight, babe," Dick reminded her. "I can probably join you guys afterward though."

"What the hell do you guys discuss at these meetings anyway?" Mac asked curiously.

"Top secret frat stuff. I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you, and I just broke you in. I'd hate it if I wasted all that effort for nothing.

"Let me guess, what brand of ping pong balls work best for beer pong?"

"Dammit, I thought I asked Ronnie to remove all her spy shit from our house," Dick said pretending to be mad. "Anyway, tease all you want, but beer pong is an awesome game. It takes a lot of skill." Dick opened the door to the science building and motioned for Mac to go in first. They crossed over to the staircase and climbed up to the 2nd floor.

"The only skill that _game_ takes is a little hand-eye coordination and whole lot of alcohol tolerance," Mac corrected.

"See, skill."

"Skill that comes from lots of practice, no doubt."

"That's right, babe. I'm thinking of checking out the Beer Pong pro-circuit."

"Glad you have some ambition."

"I know you like that in a guy," Dick smirked. They stopped just to the right of the door of his classroom. "So, this is where I get off. I'll just meet you guys at Java. Okay? I might be a little late. Love you. See you tonight." He leaned in and kissed Mac's cheek.

"That's fine. Love you, too. See you later." Mac hugged him and left.

Dick watched her walk away and then turned around to head into his class room. She had been great in the early days of his dad's sudden death, that was not surprising. Now, however, things had settled back into routine for everyone else, but not for him. He had this whole new normal to get used to and truthfully, it sucked. He was alone, the last Casablancas left standing.

Dick took a seat near the back and rifled through his bag until he found his geology textbook buried at the bottom. He dug it out, ignoring the other detritus that surfaced. His reverie about Mac was interrupted by the chairs on either side of him getting filled up simultaneously. He looked over to his right and greeted Matt Kassel, one of the new Pi Sigs. "Hey brother, you going to be at the meeting tonight?"

"You betcha," Matt answered. "You? Your ball and chain letting you off your leash tonight?"

"Chip is obviously a bad influence on you," Dick replied, referring to his crack on Mackie. "Yes, I'll be there." Then he glanced over to see who his neighbor on the left was. The pretty redhead looked vaguely familiar.

She saw him look over at her and smiled back, flirtatiously. "Hi! I haven't seen you around much lately."

"I've been here, every Tuesday and Thursday, just like the schedule says," Dick said. "At least that's my story if the instructor asks."

"Don't worry, I won't rat you out. However, I wasn't referring to your class attendance, I'm not the grad assistant or anything like that. You're one of the regulars at the place I work at, Luigi's. Don't tell me you didn't recognize me out of uniform," she simpered.

"Oh! I thought you looked familiar. I guess next time you'll have to wear your Luigi's get up to class." Dick joked.

"I'm Meredith, by the way," she said.

"Dick." He was about to say more but then the instructor started the lecture. They were discussing the principle of intrusive relationships. He took notes and tried to follow along as best he could. Class seemed to go by pretty quickly.

Dick gathered up his stuff and was about to tell Matt he'd see him at the house in an hour when Meredith touched his shoulder.

"Stop by Luigi's soon. There might even be a cannoli in it for you," she said smiling.

"That's an offer I can't refuse. My girlfriend loves cannoli." Dick said. Being that Mac was a vegan, he figured she wasn't actually a cannoli fan but he knew she'd appreciate the sentiment. It was his subtle way of letting her know he was off the market.

"Oh, the short brunette. I thought she was your sister. Well, see you later." Meredith said, then turned to leave, clearly dismissing him.

"See you." Dick couldn't resist smirking a little on the inside though. Just because he wasn't checking out other merchandise these days didn't mean he didn't appreciate them checking him out. "Matt, I'll catch you at the house later."

"Alright," Matt replied back.

Dick headed out the classroom and made his way through the science building and out into the quad. It was heading toward late afternoon and there weren't very many people milling about. He made his way toward the union thinking about how slow the past couple weeks had moved. Mornings always seemed to come too quickly when all you did the night before was drink away those damn voices in your head. He knew 2 weeks wasn't a long time at all to process the fact that once again grief and loss had settled down into his life, all he really wanted though was a fast forward button for life. He was just thinking about all the facets of life that would benefit from that little invention when he heard his name being called.

"Richard. Wait up. Richard Casablancas, wait up." The male voice got closer.

Dick turned around to look, curious about who was calling him Richard. He felt a jolt of surprise when he realized who it was. "Mr. Pope. Um, what brings you here?"

"I had a meeting with one of the economics professors, and then I was hoping to run into you." Mr. Pope confessed. "Look, do you have a few minutes to talk? We could go to the union."

"I was actually just headed there to grab a quick dinner. I could squeeze you in." Dick said.

"Thanks."

Dick remembered the last time he saw Mr. Pope, the day of his dad's funeral. He didn't have a chance to chat with him though, he was too busy losing his meager breakfast. Seeing his former teacher at the service made everything seem too real, but now that a little more time had lapsed he felt more prepared to hear from the guy who was either directly or indirectly responsible for his dad's death. Only that was kind of bullshit, too. His dad was the one who cheated this guy out of his life savings. However, that didn't negate the fact that maybe Mr. Pope should not have put so much faith and so much money into his dad's business anyway. On yet another hand, why wouldn't Mr. Pope trust his dad, there was no reason not to. Except, unfortunately, there was a very good reason to not trust his dad, Big Dick was a liar and a cheat. However, all Dick knew for sure was he was running out of hands. Was anyone right when everyone was wrong?

Mr. Pope fell into step beside Dick and they didn't talk as they made their way to the union. Once inside they both went through the line selecting dinner. Dick grabbed a burger he suddenly didn't feel like eating as Mr. Pope chose the lasagna from the hot _entrée_ selections. After paying, they made their way through the big room. They sat down at a table tucked away in the back corner, it was still somewhat secluded in spite of the fact the place was starting to fill up for the dinner rush.

"I've got a meeting tonight, in about an hour in fact, so I can't stay long," Dick said somewhat apologetically. He unwrapped his burger, but didn't make a move to start eating it.

"This won't take long," Mr Pope said, then he took a big bite of his lasagna to stall. He was trying to formulate just the right way to tell Dick what he'd come to say. He swallowed the bite of food. "First, I'm so sorry."

"Okay," Dick said simply. He wasn't really accepting the apology so much as just acknowledging it. Then he added, "for what?" He had to know exactly Mr. Pope thought he needed to apologize for.

"Everything that happened, well, none of it was my intention. I lost over a hundred thousand dollars, money I had worked very hard for. I knew your dad, I trusted him." Mr. Pope said, he was about to continue when Dick interrupted.

"Get in line."

Mr. Pope cocked his head but didn't say anything, waiting for Dick to explain.

"I trusted him, too. The Bev, um Cassidy trusted him. We all did. He betrayed a lot of people. But I still can't fully wrap my head around the brutal way he died, either. Not sure how much the punishment fits the crime. But I still can't say I'm too surprised that things he did caught up to him and life gave him an epic beat down." Dick said, his voice getting soft at the end.

"People who cheat others out of money are smart, they are charming—they have to be, to be good at their jobs," Mr. Pope said with a rueful smile. "But anyway, I had a lot of anger, of course. My family tree is full of people with some less than stellar decision making skills, and a couple of my cousins who fit that description perfectly got tired of seeing me so down about my loss of money and decided on their own that the judge's sentence wasn't tough enough. I hope you believe me when I say I never would have encouraged that kind of vigilante retribution. I believe in the justice system, I believe that your father was paying his debt to society. I am so sorry that my family was responsible for you losing yours. It wasn't life that gave your dad an epic beat down, it was my cousin George and I believe his brother was involved, too, though there's no proof of that. There were some logistics involved that I don't fully understand, either. But anyway, thank you for giving me the chance to explain."

"You're welcome," Dick said. His appetite started making an appearance. He took a bite of his burger. "I was surprised to see you at the funeral."

Mr. Pope didn't say anything for almost a full minute, Dick was just starting to believe he wasn't going to respond when he said "I almost didn't come. I knew you probably thought I had something to do with what happened to your dad. Actually, I did have something to do with it. But only in a round about way."

"Why wait so long to tell me this?" Dick asked, shaking his head slightly. He took another bite of his food.

"You mean why didn't I say anything to you at the funeral? I chickened out at the last second." Mr. Pope admitted. He couldn't look Dick in the eyes. "It was definitely guilt for my own part in this that brought me to the service. I've got to say, you didn't look real receptive to talking to me."

"Maybe not," Dick said shrugging noncommittally. "Thanks for talking to me now, though."

"My pleasure. You know, Richard, you've had more crap to deal with than a lot of guys your age. I'm glad you're in college. I'm so relieved you're trying to get your life together."

"Probably didn't see that coming, did you?" Dick smirked. He was pretty sure a lot of his teachers would have laid odds against him going to college. Idly he wondered what the spread would've been.

"I had you for the one class you actually applied yourself," Mr. Pope reminded him. "I always knew you had potential."

They chatted a few more minutes as both guys finished their dinner. A couple of times Dick thought Mr. Pope was going to bring up Cassidy but he seemed to change his mind each time.

Dick happened to glance up at the clock on the wall and noticed it was almost time for his meeting. He shoved the last bite of food in his mouth and mumbled a quick good bye and thank you to Mr. Pope.

On the 10 minute walk to the Pi Sigma Sigma house Dick kept remembering the time his dad was a guest speaker in Mr. Pope's FBLA class. His dad got up there, greeted him and Logan warmly and all but ignored Cassidy. Then he started talking about his real estate holdings, it was an hour long sales pitch cleverly disguised as a business lecture. No wonder Mr. Pope bought what his dad was selling. Once again he wondered was anyone right when everyone was wrong? Or perhaps more to the point in Mr. Pope's case it was probably more like was anyone wrong when everyone was right? Or something like that.

Dick walked through the door of the Pi Sig house right as the meeting was set to begin. Of course being that Chip Diller was in charge nothing had to come to order yet. The guys were all milling about, drinking beer, talking about hot girls in their classes and what parties were going on this weekend. Dick went over to the beer fridge and helped himself. As he screwed off the bottle lid he walked over to a junior named Nate.

"Hey Dick, glad you could join us," Nate greeted him, slapping him on the back.

"I heard we have a long agenda this week, I didn't want to miss any important decision making opportunities." Dick said. "Gotta spread my input around."

"As long as it's just your input, man," Nate responded. "The Alpha Sigma Omega house is having a party tomorrow, gonna be epic. You should go. We're going to help the girls get it set it up." Alpha Sigma Omega was their "sister" sorority.

Dick was about to respond when the meeting was called to order. He and the rest of the guys all sat down on the floor of the main living area of the house. He took a big sip of his beer and settled in to listen to Chip's ramblings.

"Yo, Pi Sigma Sigma's, let's get this started. Then we can get to the fun stuff later, beer pong!" Chip hollered. "We have a couple charitable opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks. After last years near-closure, we have to work double time this year to revive our reputation. I'm still not 100% certain on the beliefs and affiliations for our esteemed interim dean, Dean Simon. Therefore, guys, we cannot slack on the charity portion of Hearst's expectations of us. So, ditch those baseball caps and get your thinking hats on, dudes. I'm thinking kids. Everyone loves kids."

Dick listened as his brothers volleyed ideas back and forth about various fund raising options and debated which charities were worthy of their philanthropy. Despite his remark to Nate he didn't feel the need to spread his input around in most of the ideas proposed, but he did cast a dissenting vote for the idea of a Frisbee tournament for the wounded vet program. On the other hand, he also ended up proposing a pie throwing contest to benefit Invisible Children, a charity Wallace was involved heavily in. Everyone voted for that idea, and they settled on a date for the pie toss. Dick wasn't too surprised it made the cut, if you couldn't eat a pie yourself, the next best thing was definitely throwing a pie in your friend's face. He scanned the room looking for people he wanted to throw a pie at. Plus he liked to help causes his buddies cared about, and Wallace was a pal by association at least. Invisible Children was a worthy cause in his mind.

Chip then discussed the party at the Alpha Sigma Omega house. Everyone was expected to help their sisters get ready. They were required to be there at 9 the following evening. A mandatory party, Dick could deal with that. Mac was starting to comment on his increased attendance in the social events of college life. She wasn't one to nag, but he could hear a slight edge of disapproval in her tone. He could tell she was thinking of last year when he was dealing with Cassidy's death. Dick still cringed inside when he remembered how he had treated her back then. He squinted his eyes shut, trying to block the memory of that first week at Hearst when he knocked on the door of Mac's dorm room seeking out Parker. She'd opened the door, her eyes sleepy, hair mussed. He took one look at her and all his guilt and pain about Cassidy poured out as he spewed out lies about his brother not caring about her. He only wanted to give away his own pain and guilt, Mac was the perfect one to gift it to. Fortunately, life had given him the opportunity to make it up to her and for some reason he'd managed not to squander it. He drained the rest of his beer.

An hour later Chip had finally managed to tick off every item on his sizable agenda, Dick had just finished his 3rd beer. Gotta love meetings where alcohol flowed free. He looked up at the clock on the wall, he could squeeze in another beer or 2 and a round of beer pong before he had to leave to meet Mac, Logan and Ronnie at Java the Hut. He got up to drop the empty bottle in the recycle bin and to grab a fresh bottle from the fridge. Once that was accomplished, he joined Nate and Chip, who were deep in conversation about the meeting highlights.

*****Java the Hut******

Mac had arrived a little earlier than planned to find Logan and Veronica had already secured a table in the back. It was pretty crowded, but fortunately she'd just missed the open mic session. Thursday nights were reserved for sharing original songs and bad poetry.

"So, did I miss the 2nd coming of Alan Ginsberg?" Mac asked as she plopped down in a chair across from Veronica and diagonal from Logan.

"No! No beat poetry. I'd say more like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but only if she suddenly started waxing poetic about daggered hearts and black, bleeding roses," Veronica assured her.

"Aw, brokenhearted therapy poems, my favorite," Mac said, dryly. "Sorry I missed it."

"You should see some of the gems I filled my diary with last year," Logan said. "My favorite was called Ode to Bobcats." He said it as a joke but his tone still had a slightly bitter tinge to it until Veronica smacked him hard on his arm. "Sugarpuss, you hit like a girl," he said as he rubbed his arm and tried to hide his grimace.

"Enough with your foreplay guys," Mac interjected hoping to put the kibosh on things before Logan and Veronica really got going with the whole rehashing of their angst filled romantic past. This 3rd attempt at a relationship had proven to be by far the most mature, stable, and functional to everyone's relief.

The waitress came by to take Mac's drink order. She ignored V's knowing smirk as she ordered her signature drink, a vanilla soy latte. Logan and Veronica ordered refills on their Irish Coffees, too.

"What? I'm not boring, and predictable. I just know what I like in the beverage department." Mac defended after the waitress left.

"I never said you were. My look was not that precise in its judgments," Veronica claimed.

"I don't know babe, it's amazing what your looks can do to me," Logan said suggestively.

"Enough guys!" Mac shouted. "La la la la, I can't hear you," she sang as she covered her ears.

Logan and Veronica exchanged glances and burst out laughing. "We're not nearly as bad as you and Dick," Veronica added between chuckles.

"Well, we'll call it a draw," Mac conceded. "Thanks," she added as the waitress came back and dropped the drinks off. She picked up her mug and blew on it before taking a tentative sip.

After debating silently with herself, Mac finally got up the courage to ask Logan about how Dick seemed to him. She'd been around him a lot the past couple weeks of course, but she figured since Logan lived with him, he'd have more insight than she into how Dick really was coping with things.

"Why do you think I would know more than you?" Logan countered.

"Sometimes it's easier to let your guard down at home than when you're around other people."

"You're not just anyone off the street, Mac," Logan reminded her.

"No, I know that. It's just, well, you were with him during the awful events of last year, you probably know things to look for that I do not." Mac admitted. "Not necessarily what he says, as much as how he acts when he thinks no one is watching."

"Time, Mac, that's all he needs. Time to get used to his new normal. He's been going all _Margaritaville_ lately. You know that. It's how he copes until he's ready to see things more clearly. Just ride the waves, that's all I can tell you. I love you, you're one of my best friends, too, but I won't tell you anything he says to me in confidence."

"I'm not asking you to betray him. I just wanted your take on things as his roommate and his best friend."

"That's it, Mac. You got my take on things. Despite his attempts at the contrary, Dick is a bit more complicated than he likes to appear. You might have figured that out by now, though."

Veronica watched Logan and Mac discussing Dick. She remembered the conversation she'd had with him the night of his dad's funeral. She had found him on the roof of the Grand, a place neither of them had dared to step since the fateful night of their high school graduation. It made an interesting backdrop for their long overdue conversation. He apologized, sort of, for what he perceived as his part in Cassidy raping her at Shelly Pomeroy's party their sophomore year. It was one of those defining conversations, and though it was more than a little surreal that she had one of those with Dick of all people, she was glad they'd talked things out.

Deciding to change the topic, Veronica cut in. "By the way, where is Dick?"

"He had a frat meeting, he'll drop by around 10, I guess," Mac replied.

"Well, it's about that now," Veronica said. "What could those guys possibly have to discuss? How to tell the perfect dirty joke? Which Planned Parenthood has the best STD post-care?"

"I have no clue," Mac said. "I would rather retain my ignorance in this instance. Though Dick did mention ping pong balls and the sport embraced by frat guys everywhere, beer pong."

"Sport and beer pong, those 2 concepts go together like milk and orange juice."

"Actually, dear, it takes a certain skill set," Logan corrected Veronica.

"What? High alcohol tolerance?" she snarked back.

"That's exactly what I told Dick this afternoon," Mac added.

"In that case, I think you and Ronnie are hanging out together way too much," Logan rejoined. His grin made it clear he was only teasing.

As the banter slowed down, they all took out their textbooks to get a little studying done. In between doing the microeconomics review problems, Mac took a couple peaks at her cell phone. Nothing. No missed calls, no texts. Finally, when the time display read 10:25 she typed up a terse text and hit send.

*******Pi Sigma Sigma Frat House******

One of the dining tables had been transformed into the beer pong play area. Twenty plastic cups each filled with six ounces of beer were divided between both sides of the table. The cups were arranged in two pyramids-one per side. Dick and Nate were stationed on one end, Chip and Chuck defended the other one.

Dick watched Nate take his turn. On the other side of the room he noticed Matt and Justin talking to some dorky guy who definitely wasn't a frat brother. He could only see the side profile of the guy though.

"Who is that tool talking to Justin?" Dick asked Nate as he threw the ping pong ball in such a manner that it spun as it gracefully arced into one of the opposing team's cups. Chip picked up the cup and drank the contents. He let out a big belch.

"Matt, Max, something like that. Some dweeb that was expelled last year and somehow found his way back in this year." Nate said.

"Yeah, Max," Chip confirmed. "He comes here quite a bit. I don't know why, this isn't exactly his scene."

The guy turned around briefly, and Dick recognized him immediately. "Oh, I know him. He dated Mac last year. What a loser."

"Supply and demand," Chuck chimed in. "He found a new enterprise, he is now selling study kits since his lucrative business of selling exams has been shut down."

"Study kits?" Dick asked.

"Uppers, downers, tranqs, a whole assortment of pharmaceuticals to help you in your pursuit of upper learning," Chuck clarified. "Speed to help you with those late night cram sessions. Valium to help you overcome jitters, and other stuff I think. I don't know, I'm not a customer. I just down a lot of Red Bull. That works well enough for me. Hell of a lot cheaper, too."

"Where's the supply and the demand come in then?" Dick demanded. He had an odd feeling come over him, he quickly dismissed it though.

"I'm not sure," Chuck admitted. "I just figured that since he comes to visit Justin a lot, they must have some type of symbiotic relationship going. Maybe I'm an ass for assuming that, but I know it's not a news flash when I tell you Justin is a bit of a stoner dude."

"Then how do you know about the study kit business then?" Dick wanted to know more.

"I can't reveal my sources," Chuck said. "But I might know someone who knows someone that has purchased a study kit before. They were real impressed with the quality of the merchandise."

"Well, I don't want to know any details. As long as I don't know anything that involves my guys, I don't know anything. Capiche?" Chip cut in. His tone booked no argument. "We can't afford any more trouble like last year. And you better make damn sure your pal doesn't come sniffing around." He directed that last comment to Dick.

Everyone nodded their consent and Dick watched Chuck take his turn. He reached out and grabbed the cup that the ping pong ball dropped in. Dick picked it up and downed the whole contents at once. The cellphone in his pocket vibrated. Dick retrieved it and looked briefly at text displayed on the screen. It seemed almost accusatory.

_**Where R U?**_

He shut off the phone and shoved it back in his pocket as Chip went next. Dick tried not to feel guilty about that. She'd understand once he explained that he got caught up in playing beer pong. Plus he had the excuse (though it was the truth) that he was in no shape to drive to Java. Mac would figure someway to counter, he was sure, but he had the rest of the night to plan his defense strategy.

******Java the Hut******

Veronica watched Mac look at her cell phone display once again. Mac was trying to be subtle about it, but nothing got past her PI skills and deductive reasoning. "Still no reply?"

"Nada. Caught up in the riveting verbal skills of Chip Diller, I guess."

"I know, I never tire of listening to that guy degrade women from here to Seattle and back again," Veronica replied.

"At this point, ladies, it's probably better that Dick stays where he's at. He's probably not able to walk a straight line by now, or stand one leg and touch his finger to his nose." Logan cut in.

"Or you know, walk and chew gum," Veronica helpfully added.

"You're probably right," Mac concurred. She tried to concentrate once again on her economics textbook. A few minutes later though she set it aside and turned to Veronica. "The cases."

"What?" Veronica asked, pulling herself out of the profiling book she'd been reading. "Oh right. The files I promised you. I didn't pilfer much, but you can take these bad boys overnight to peruse. Let me know your thoughts on them. If anything piques your hacker tendencies we can go over a couple strategies, then you can hack until you get your fill."

"Oh Bond, I will never get my fill," Mac joked back.

Veronica leaned over and rummaged through her backpack until she unearthed 3 manila files. She handed them over to Mac, who kept the top one and put the other 2 in her messenger bag. She opened the file cover and read the top page. The intake form was filled out by a concerned mother who was worried about her son's recent overdose at a frat party. Mac was relieved though that the frat in question wasn't Dick's house. She wasn't sure in what capacity her services would be needed though.

"Just read through the whole thing, then we can go over details tomorrow," Veronica replied when Mac asked her that very question. "Some cases might require a more active role, if you feel up to it," she amended.

"Of course I'm up to it. I'm back up to tip top condition," Mac reassured her friend. She took one more peak at her cell. It was almost 11, Dick definitely wasn't coming. She sighed and tried to focus again on the case file. Mac tried not to take it personally, she knew Dick was with his frat, probably caught up in drinking and playing beer pong, not running around on her. Still, however, she couldn't help feeling like he was drifting away from her.

An hour later when she left Java and was getting ready for bed she still couldn't shake that feeling. She took one final look at the blank display screen of her cell phone before laying it on the bedside table. Mac drifted off to sleep.

_**TBC...**_

_**A/N: **__**The title is in reference to Jimmy Buffet's song of the same name Margaritaville. It's about alcoholism, but I thought it fit Dick's coping mechanism too. **_


	12. 12 A State of Doubt, A state of Grace

_**A/N: I really appreciate your patience. This update took WAY longer than planned to get written. I had a bit of writer's block, but I plowed through it and here you go—a LONG overdue update. So please enjoy. But before you do, I have some thank you's and shout outs to give first. First, thank you to everyone who has been reading & following this from the start. Thank you to everyone who just found it recently, welcome! Thank you to everyone on who read it, reviewed it, favorited it, &/or followed it. Also, thank you to Staci, Guest and Angel for their reviews since I was unable to send you a proper thank you via the private message feature. And cainc3, thank you for the encouraging PM. Here's that update I promised I'd post this weekend. **_

_**lateVMlover—Thank you for all the encouragement and cheering me on! I needed that, as you know this has been a tough chapter for me to work through**__**. Glad you kept me on point. **_

**_TurquoiseDragonfly—I so enjoy our PM's, (private messaging), just generally chatting about writing, bouncing ideas off each other, talking about what awesome characters Mac & Dick are, and commiserating in general. You gave me credit for encouraging you, well right back 'atcha multiplied by 10! (Disclaimer: Guess what? I still own NOTHING. But I do enjoy playing around in this world. Rob Thomas, you lucky guy, you own it ALL.)_**

**Chapter 12—A State of Doubt, A State of Grace**

The next morning Mac stumbled out into the tiny galley kitchen of the 3rd floor apartment she shared with Parker Lee. She reached a hand up to swipe at her blurry eyes. Truthfully, she'd had a restless night, sleep arrived in fits and starts. Thoughts of ignored texts, memories of all the little ways Dick had started to pull away streamed through the circuit boards of her subconscious.

On autopilot she set about making a pot of coffee. Once it was perking, she rummaged through the fridge looking for a carton of soy yogurt and then reached around the 6 pack of beer for the carton of soy milk.

When the coffeemaker made its final gurgle, Mac eagerly filled her cup. She needed that caffeine jolt today. She went a little lighter on the soy milk, the exact opposite of her usual coffee to milk ratio.

Mac took her meager breakfast and placed it on the battered old dining table she and Parker had recently salvaged at a thrift store. Before sitting down though, she retrieved her laptop from its usual perch in the living room. She opened the yogurt carton and took a bite as she waited not-so-patiently for the computer to boot up. She mentally ticked down her to-do list for the day, figuring prominently was a calculus quiz (easy!) and a meeting with the prosecutors assigned to her hit and run _accident_ several months before. Just thinking about it made her knee ache. She mentally chastised herself for being psychosomatic, emphasis on _psycho_, she thought smirking to herself. It was hard not to draw parallels between that helpless feeling she had laying there on the pavement waiting for the ambulance to arrive, and now, watching Dick in pain, struggling with yet more grief and loss, and unable to do anything to help him. She was sidelined, waiting for him to come to her. Helpless. Helpless as a naked girl huddled under a shower curtain, left alone in a hotel room waiting to be rescued. She scrunched her eyes against _that_ memory.

When her computer's processors were fully functional, she opened up her email. Ignoring the other detritus, she zeroed in on the one from Dick titled simply "Busy, sorry."Clicking on it, she skimmed over his perfunctory message.

"**Sorry babe. Lost track of time last night. Dinner tomorrow night? Love you! -D"**

After hitting reply, Mac typed out her own terse email.

"**Okay. On for dinner. -M."**

Mac's fingers were poised over the keyboard about to call up the Balboa County Sheriff's department database via a backdoor entry she had discovered years ago, when the opening of the front door startled her. Deciding to save her hacking for a more private time, she closed up the laptop.

Mac whipped her head around smirking once again, this time as she watched Parker trying her best to covertly enter the living room of their apartment. She must have assumed Mac would still be sleeping.

"Ah ha. The walk of shame. I've heard about its existence but never witnessed it in the wild."

"Mac! Oh you startled me," Parker exclaimed turning around to seek out Mac. Her hand was placed over her heart. "Late night?"

"Early morning, actually. Just got up," Mac replied, picking up her coffee cup and taking a sip. She stifled a yawn.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Mac? You don't do mornings, remember?"

"Actually, I do mornings when those pesky little things called class require me to," Mac corrected.

"Oh right, I forgot! You and all your silly little ambitions," Parker called back as she went into the kitchen to grab a mug from the cabinet. She poured a cup of coffee, rustled up a pack of sugar substitute to dump in there and then joined Mac at the table.

"I also have a meeting with the prosecutor's office today," Mac continued.

"For the incident last Fall?" Parker asked, her face showcasing the memories that brought back.

"The hit-and-run, yes."

"Is Dick going with you?"

"No. For one thing, he's also involved firsthand with the case, remember? They want to meet with us privately. But, also, well, no. No plans. He had a late night last night." Mac's voice trailed off at the end.

Parker didn't say anything, but she waggled her eyebrows suggestively at the last bit.

"Oh no, not that kind of late night," Mac clarified, correctly interpreting what her friend was implying. "Dick had some urgent frat business to attend to."

"Yeah, I've never understood what frat guys could possibly need to meet about," Parker said.

"Fundraisers, the best brands of beers, tall tales of their latest conquests, things like that," Mac said.

"Oh to be a fly on that wall," Parker said in a mocking tone.

"I think I'd rather just be left to my illusions," Mac countered. "I think he played a few too many rounds of Beer Pong, Dick was a no show at Java's."

"Oh?" Parker raised an eyebrow.

"He was supposed to join Veronica, Logan and me at Java's after the meeting. I texted him and he never got back to me."

"Did you guys have a fight or anything?"

"No. Not that I know of."

"Somehow I think you'd be aware if you guys were in the middle of a lover's quarrel."

"You'd think. But now I'm thinking I'm the only one still in a relationship."

"Mac-attack, let me assure you, I am not minimizing anything," Parker clarified, "but these things happen, time runs over, I don't think this is the dire, end of days, apocalyptic dooms day ending of your relationship."

"You sound like Veronica," Mac said after a long pause. "Well, except for the whole sci-fi verbiage."

"Well, then if we both agree on something, then it must be correct. Just talk to him, ask him what's going on instead of driving yourself crazy. You know what your problem is?"

"Global warming? The illegal sex trade?" Mac hypothesized.

"You think too much."

"So, I should stop thinking then?"

"Well, not cold turkey, of course."

"Baby steps then," Mac joked.

"I just mean you over think things. You're reading too much into this. Again, I know things are rough now with Dick, and he's acting _weirder_ than usual, but you have enough going on today without adding this to your list of worries."

"Maybe," Mac relented.

"Definitely," Parker said confidently. Her tone booked no argument, it was as firm as the bubbly blond was capable of. Then she launched into a blow-by-blow account of all things Piz.

Mac got up mid-spiel to bring the coffee pot over to the dining table. She refilled her cup and Parker's, and settled back in her chair as her roomie finished the story of Piz's latest interview with Desmond Fellows, and how he was not quite as washed up these days. Mac smiled and laughed in the appropriate places, but knew her chance to take conversational reigns was largely over.

Parker finally slowed her ramblings down. She yawned real big, unable to stifle it.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Mac asked, seizing her chance to get a word in.

"Not much," Parker confessed, winking. "I think I'll turn in now. Look, hang in there. Don't mentally throw in the towel, at least not yet. Maybe text Dick and make plans for this weekend."

"I think we're getting together tomorrow night for dinner."

"Making plans for a Saturday doesn't sound like the end-of-days to me," Parker said skeptically.

"It's just like he's moving along on a script, kind of automatic pilot. I feel like I'm here in the relationship and he's just saying lines, making the right motions without being fully invested. Does that make sense?"

"No," Parker said. "But nothing is making sense now."

"Well, whatever. Moving on...I think Veronica and I are doing a girl's night tonight, if I can convince her ball and chain to release the shackles for a few hours. Want to crash?"

"Well, that's one invite I can't resist," Parker replied, "actually, Piz is doing some behind-the-scenes roadie work for the Desmond Fellows concert tonight, and he gave me a couple tickets. I was going to ask if you and Dick wanted to join me, but now it sounds like maybe Veronica can be your date."

"That washed out sell-out? Well, tickets are free, right? I'm teasing. Sounds good. Thanks! I'll run it by V, but I'm sure I can do some arm twisting. What brings him here again? He just did the benefit gig last year, right?"

"Right," Parker agreed through another yawn. "But he's dating that Chinese Professor now. It should be fun, he's been recording more original songs ahead of his new solo album due out in June. Plus I'm sure he'll play a couple hits from My Pretty Pony.

"Just go to bed, you're about to fall face first into your coffee," Mac instructed.

Parker didn't even attempt an argument, she just got up out of her chair, giving a half-hearted wave before trudging down the hall to her room.

With thoughts of her relationship talk with Parker still looping through her memory, Mac restarted her laptop. Peaking at her email account again she clicked on the new reply from Dick.

"**Excellent! Pick you up at 7 tomorrow night. Love, D"**

Mac replied back:

"**On for 7. -M"**

A quick glance at the time let Mac know she still had a couple hours before her Calculus quiz, so she once again decided to call up the backdoor entry to the Balboa County Sheriff's office database. Her supercomputer was fully loaded now with extra protection, she had a much greater chance of contracting the Bubonic Plague than being detected by the bumbling deputies. Using the dates Veronica had given her the previous night as a guide, she found the report along with a couple transcripts from ensuing lines of questioning. She was beginning to think she'd found a whole lot of nuttin', when a name popped out at her. It seemed familiar in a vague-almost on the tip of her tongue only to disappear once again-kind of way. However, nothing else really jumped out at her after that.

Finally it was time to leave for campus. Mac was no closer to recalling that elusive name.

The quiz went by quickly. Mac felt confident that she'd aced it. Once she turned the exam booklet in to the instructor, she was free to leave. The test had only swallowed twenty of the fifty scheduled minutes so she decided to kick up the already plentiful caffeine volume percolating in her body by ordering a vanilla soy latte in the student union. She got it to go and headed out into the quad. She squinted her eyes against the glare of the mid-morning sun. Around her was the sound of laughter, groups of students commiserating on the waste of a beautiful spring day, a chorus of birds chirping. Off in the distance Mac could hear the growl of a lawn mower, the smell of freshly mowed grass waded by, carried in the breeze. Her reverie, however, was disrupted by a flash of something headed right toward her. The object crash landed only a few inches from her feet—it was a Frisbee. Mac's gaze landed on a group of guys in matching green tee shirts about 50 feet away. Frat guys. The tight jeans-clad butt of a lanky, shaggy blonde guy caught her eye. He didn't turn around, he didn't need to, she'd recognize that view anywhere.

Bending down, Mac retrieved the Frisbee, one of the guys in Dick's group, a brother she didn't know, held out his hands. To her amazement she didn't undershoot it by much. The dark haired guy jogged the remaining couple feet and grabbed it, yelling something resembling "thanks." Mac gave a quick wave of her hand in acknowledgment.

It was on the tip of her tongue to holler at Dick to get his attention but she clamped down on that instinct at the last second, for some reason she was afraid to explore too deeply. Mac kept on her forward trajectory but did chance a quick glance back over her left shoulder. Dick still had his back to her retreating form, he probably hadn't seen her anyway.

The traffic into downtown Neptune was light that time of the morning so Mac arrived at the Balboa County Justice Center ahead of schedule. The line through the x-ray machine went quickly. She spent her brief wait time studying the security guard directing people through the metal detectors. The man had to be in his mid-forties at least, with brown hair that was barely beginning to thin. She watched as his gaze kept landing on the wall clock stationed off to his right. While the guard seemed obsessed with keeping schedule, Mac wasn't eager to get to her destination. Sitting around being grilled about the hit and run wasn't her idea of a good way to spend a Friday morning. Despite the fact Veronica had rushed over to her side seconds after the accident had occurred, Mac still had never felt more alone in her life than she did those 4 minutes she was on the street. Never before had she hurt so bad, she felt stuck in neutral, waiting for the ambulance to come and just make the pain go away.

Pain was isolating, be it the physical manifestation of her knee, or the inner pain of grief Dick was trying (unsuccessfully) to keep at bay.

The guard motioned her forward. Mac walked through the x-ray kiosk. She continued through the marble lobby hoping the ratty Chuck Taylors she was wearing weren't scuffing the floors. It was more superstitious than Mac usually believed, but she thought of them as her _lucky_ shoes.

Her eyes were drawn up to the huge crystal tear drop chandelier hanging from the ceiling. 09'er tax dollars hard at work, she cattily mused to herself. The sign by the bank of elevators proclaimed that the County Prosecutor's office was on the 3rd floor. Mac pressed the _**up**_ button and waited for the elevator doors to open. Once on the correct floor, Mac exited and took the right-hand hallway, following the signs to the specified office suite.

Taking a deep breath Mac pushed open the door and stepped into a room resembling a doctor's office with dull gray utilitarian carpeting, faded red cushioned wooden chairs, and a receptionists desk in the corner. Evidently the bulk of available monies went to the lobby and setting the right ambiance to people walking in to the justice center that there didn't appear to be much funds left for the offices populating the massive complex. She walked up to the woman sitting behind the desk and gave her name.

"Yes, Ms. Mackenzie, you can go into conference room B. They are already there." The woman smiled showing off her white, even teeth. She vaguely gestured to the French doors next to her desk.

Mac opened them and preceded down a hall carpeted in that same drab gray. Pictures of various Neptune landmarks were strategically placed on the walls in an vain attempt to liven up the bland beige walls. About halfway down the long hall Mac found Conference room B. She gave a brief knock before tentatively walking in. She hovered by the door until a man in his early fifties looked up. Flanking his left hand side was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, though her sleek blond pageboy hair cut and pearls probably made her look older than she was.

"Ms. Mackenzie, right on time. Have a seat over there," he pointed to the seat across from him. "Help yourself to some water. I am ADA Edmonds. My associate is Joyce Miles." The woman gave her a curt nod and then looked down at the yellow legal pad in front of her.

Mac nodded and took a seat in the pro-offered chair and reached over to grab a glass, She lifted up the full water pitcher and carefully poured herself some ice water. The long oak table took up much of the room. Her eyes were drawn to the bank of windows on the far end of the room. The sun was streaming in, accentuating the thin sheen of dust on the opposite end of the table. Mac supposed they held most of their pretrial meetings at her end of the table. Reluctantly she pulled her attention back to the what the man was saying.

"I wanted to make sure you understood what we expect from you. I know the justice system can be a confusing thing, so please feel free to interrupt me at any time to ask questions. We want to make sure Leon Smith, née Bruce Boyd, is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law allowed."

"Wait, Boyd?" Mac asked. "That Leon guy's real name is Bruce Boyd? Any relation to Danny Boyd?"

"Cousin," Joyce confirmed in a clipped tone.

That explained why the guy had come to Neptune for his little crime spree, at least. Mac wondered if that little tidbit of information had been funneled down to Veronica yet. Thanks to growing up the Sheriff's daughter Veronica had sources in several arms of the Balboa County governing body.

The ADA (Assistant District Attorney) went over the procedure point-by-point, step-by-step until Mac had a clear understanding of the process. Joyce added a couple brief explanations in her precise speech. Finally, at the end, they both took turns asking Mac questions representative of ones she'd be asked in court. The whole meeting had only taken an hour.

ADA Edmonds called out to Mac as she was leaving. "Don't forget that trial begins in one week. You'll be testifying on the 3rd day. See you in court at 9 AM sharp. Thank you for all you're doing for justice."

"Thank you," Mac replied before turning around and walking out the door. She rode the elevators back down to the first floor. Stepping back into the ornate lobby, Mac searched for the guard. She observed him checking the clock again. If Dick had been with her he would have concocted a whole back story on who he was waiting for-somehow there would be a Gothic secret at the end. She was so linear, logical; Dick was fanciful, imaginative. They had always fit, though, like an interlocking puzzle that didn't look as though it would fit at first glance, but if you turned it another way it snapped into place with ease. When had that changed? What was Mac so busy doing that she'd missed it? Where were the breadcrumb trail of clues?

With her class over and all the key items of her to-do list ticked off, Mac headed her prized lime green Beetle convertible back toward her apartment. It didn't appear that Parker had stirred. Mac went to her room, laid down on her bed and was fast asleep less than 5 minutes later.

******Alpha Sigma Omega Sorority House******

It was getting close to 8 PM and Dick had been there for over an hour setting things up for the "mandatory" party. Chip had insisted that every Pi Sig assist with the party set up. Dick also had to work the door for the first half hour making sure every girl got a special date rape drug detector coaster. That little _**law **_had been started the previous year by the late Dean O'Dell and the interim dean had kept it on the books—every party on campus was required to have them on hand. Ronnie had taken the rule a step further by seeing to the fact that each coaster was double sided for extra protection.

Dick was in the large living room of the oversized Victorian house that the Alpha Sigma Omega's called home. He and Matt Kassel, one of his Frat brothers, were moving the heavy couches and recliners off to the sides of the room to make more space for party goers. His mind briefly traveled back to that morning when he'd been talked into a game of Frisbee out on the quad.

The Frisbee had gone way off course and one of the Freshman rookies, Jackson, had gone off to retrieve it. Once it was back in play again, Matt grabbed it and lobbed it Dick's way. It was only as he'd leaped up to grab the disc mid-flight that he'd noticed Mackie walking the opposite direction. He briefly considered yelling out her name but by then she was too far ahead. He figured she probably hadn't noticed him anyway in the sea of matching green Pi Sig shirts.

There was something soothing about hanging out with the guys, they didn't look at him with sympathy or ask him to talk about his feelings and girly shit like that. Honestly it was though they'd all forgot the ink on his dad's death certificate was barely dry. He needed that break from the thoughts and memories which had been stalking him lately.

Logan had texted a couple hours earlier to say he'd be dropping by. Veronica had sprung it on him that she was ditching him for a Desmond Fellows concert with Parker and Mac. Dick remembered meeting him last year at a party, though at the time he'd been unaware who Desmond was, nor why all those hot chicks would have wanted to hook up with him.

Logan was the only one of his close friends who seemed to know instinctively when to give him space and when not to. Mac usually excelled at that art too, but for reasons which, like a bruise, hurt too much to keep pressing on, Dick was finding that being around her was getting harder for him. Cassidy! The name came to his mind anyway, despite his attempts to press pause on those thoughts. It was a party!

At 8 o'clock exactly Dick parked himself on the front porch, handing out the special coasters to every girl who came within an arm's length. About 20 minutes into his half hour shift, Dick observed a group of girls congregating by the keg, talking and laughing. It was the tall, willowy redhead that caught Dick's eye though. He was just about to wave her over when Logan came up to him.

"Hey man, can I have a coaster?" Logan smirked.

"Girls only. Plus you would make one UGLY chick, you know?" Dick couldn't help pointing that out.

"I think I'd still be hotter than you."

"Are we really having this conversation? Can we book a slot on the View next week?" Dick snarked.

"Only if we follow up our crappy daytime talk show appearances with Dr. Phil," Logan said in a game of one-upmanship.

"I'm surprised Ronnie let you off your leash." Dick said, changing the subject.

"I told you, she got a better offer. That My Little Pony tool was playing at the conference hall on campus. Something about free tickets. I think your _boss_ arranged that excursion. Besides, I think our better halves just wanted a girl's night."

"Probably. Plus, for some reason this scene isn't really Mackers style. I'm thirsty, lets hit the keg and mingle." Dick handed off his remaining few coasters to one of his brothers standing near by, and then he and Logan dodged party revelers in various states of inebriation as they made their way to the keg.

By the time they reached their destination the redhead had moved on. Dick subtly tried to seek her out. Chip handed both guys a red plastic cup of beer.

"Thanks man," Dick said accepting the cup. He took a big gulp and then said "so you're bar bitch tonight, huh?"

"Tough job, but someone had to do it, dude."

"Sampling your merchandise?" Logan asked as he took the other cup from Chip.

"You bet. Taste testing comes with the job description."

"Chip takes his work seriously," Dick replied.

"Always."

They said bye to Chip and started walking around the lawn surrounding the Alpha Sigma Omega house. Logan soon spotted a guy from his Sociology class the previous year, they'd become close after surviving the 48 hour extra credit prisoner/prison guard experiment. He supposed it was a byproduct of being on the _inside_ together.

As Logan was reminiscing with his_** jail buddy**_ Dick continued looking around, trying to fool himself into thinking he wasn't hoping to talk to his favorite Luigi's hostess/Geology classmate. He'd just decided to stop focusing on that quest for awhile and join in the conversation at hand about the new Halo spin off that was coming out during the summer.

"I was just reading about a new level opening up, it involves a new ship from the Covenant. Mac's _Wired_ magazine had a whole spread about it, before it went into some diatribe about how Microsoft was running any chance for a movie spin off into the ground," Dick explained. Just then he felt a tap on his back. Turning around suddenly he came face-to-face with the girl he was trying not to think about.

"I thought I saw a familiar face. Lindsay dragged me to this thing, not quite kicking and screaming, but this isn't really my scene, or at least I didn't think it was, until I recognized a fellow rocky here." Meredith rambled on, leaning in. She let her hand linger on Dick's shoulder.

"Uh, rocky?" Dick inquired.

"You're in my Geology class, right? I could have said rock head, I guess."

"Oh, cleaver."

"You have no idea," she trilled. "Where's your sister?"

"Girlfriend." Dick accentuated the word. "She's off with some friends watching the Desmond Fellows concert."

"Oh, right, former My Pretty Pony backup. I sang "Black Cat" for a talent show in 9th grade."

"Did you win?"

"I came in 2nd place."

"Mac would call that first loser."

"What would you call it?" Meredith said, still not moving her hand from its resting place.

"Second place."

Logan continued chatting with the guy everyone called Horshack (his last name), but he also had half his attention focused on the redhead with the killer curves throwing herself at Dick. He wanted to reach out and slap him upside the head. He couldn't hide his eye roll as the girl tried to lure Dick to her place of work with free pastry. Forcing his full attention back to his former classmate, they continued talking about video games and what class load they had this semester. Then Horshack saw another former Sociology classmate and muttered a quick good bye.

"Hey, you never introduced me to your friend," Logan remembered his manners. He turned toward the girl. "I'm Logan. We don't have a class together, do we?" He stuck out his hand for her to shake, acting as though he was being polite but was motivated more by forcing her to remove her hand from Dick's shoulder.

"Meredith. No, I don't think so," she answered politely. "Nice to meet you Logan. You look familiar to me, as well." She briefly shook his pro-offered hand.

"She's a hostess at Luigi's," Dick clarified.

"Oh, that explains it." Logan snapped his fingers. "Veronica, my girlfriend, loves your lasagna."

"The best in Neptune," she agreed.

"We go there a lot, in fact. Dick and his girlfriend usually double date with us." Logan looked pointedly at Dick as he said it.

The three of them chatted for a few minutes, Logan tried to direct the conversation to neutral topics and diffuse Meredith's flirty ways as much as he could. His eyes tracked a short brunette coming up to them.

"There you are Mere, I was just going to form a search party. Oh hey, Dick! You guys did great helping us get ready." The girl said as she injected herself between Dick and Meredith.

"Lindsay, hi. No problem." Dick replied. "It was either move furniture or hear Chip whine like a 5 year old. Oh, this is my friend Logan."

Lindsay and Logan exchanged greetings. They all talked for a couple of minutes until Lindsay noticed another of her sorority sisters beckoning from across the lawn. She made a quick excuse and then dragged a reluctant Meredith with her.

Logan heard the girl holler to Dick as her friend led her away that she'd see him tomorrow. He looked questioningly at Dick.

"I mentioned Mac and I were going to dinner tomorrow night and she suggested we go to Luigi's, she'll be working then. What dude? What is that look for?"

"What the hell kind of game are you playing?"

"I'm not playing any game. I didn't do anything wrong. That girl is in my class. We talk sometime. I'm not messing around on Mac. You know me." Dick defended. He back peddled though when Logan raised his eyebrow at his last comment. "I would never do that to Mac, at least. It's not my fault that girl is into me."

"Well, you're sure as hell not discouraging it."

"I'm not encouraging it, at least."

"Really? Do you and I use the same dictionary? I don't think your understanding of the word _encouraging_ is the same as my definition of the word," Logan said, starting to raise his voice. "I don't see any discouraging, and I've seen more than a little encouragement. She's hot, I get it. I also get that you've been through a lot of shit lately, and that screws with you. I know you pull away a little bit when things get rough. I watched you go through this last year." His voice got soft once again. "I just hope you don't do something you regret, that's all. Mac has been so good for you, don't push her so far away you can't get her back. She's not an idiot, she will only take so much. You're my friend, but so is Mac. I can't sit idly by and let you hurt her or yourself. Just man up."

"I'm not cheating on Mac," Dick reiterated.

"I didn't say you were. At least not yet. Don't let it happen."

"I'm not, man. It's just nice to know there are options, that's all." Dick admitted not looking at Logan as he said it.

Logan was quiet for a minute. Then he bit off "you're such a jackass. I'm going to get another beer."

"Grab me one, too, please. Thanks."

Logan just nodded curtly and headed toward the keg.

Dick joined a group of his Frat brothers as he waited for Logan to return with the beers. He tried not to feel guilty about Logan's warning.

**********Hearst College Coliseum**********

The bass was throbbing.

Mac's hips were swaying in time to "You Break Me, You Buy Me." She thought it was probably her favorite song from My Pretty Pony's heyday, way before Johnny Scopes died. She was glad that Parker suggested this particular activity for their planned girls night.

Desmond Fellows had been very busy since his last concert at Hearst College the previous year. So far the show had been a good mix of "My Pretty Pony" hits including the one everyone knew, "Black Cat," and new material from Desmond's upcoming solo album due out in July. Of all the new songs Desmond had performed so far, Mac liked "Hack" a lot.

As the last notes of "You Break Me, You Buy Me," faded Desmond announced he was ending the concert with his favorite of the new material. He mentioned that Neptune had held a special place in his heart since the last time he'd played there. Mac glanced over at Parker to gauge her response when Desmond gave a shout out to Pez, the best roadie he'd ever had. Even in the dim lighting of the concert hall Mac could make out her eye roll as Desmond once again butchered her boyfriend's name. She smiled and gave Parker's hand a quick squeeze.

"This is for my girlfriend, whom I've been with a year now. We met at the Neptune Grand last year when I played the benefit concert. I hope you enjoy the world premier of "State of Grace." Desmond announced.

Mac listened as Desmond sang of seeing through façades and connecting with someone he'd first dismissed as someone not worthy of his time. She knew, of course, that it was about his own experiences but it seemed as though he'd stolen a page from her own relationship tale with Dick. She felt a tear starting to form in her left eye, she quickly reached up to wipe it away before it could fall. If it wasn't a non-smoking establishment she would have blamed the smoke in the air. A quick glance on either side proved Parker and Veronica were caught up in the music and not paying attention to her own visceral reaction to the song.

After the song was over and the lights came on, Mac followed her friends as they all pushed their way through the crush of people toward the door. They spilled out into the warm night. Mac blinked her eyes a couple of times as she adjusted to being back outside. They were pooled under the glare of the street lamp.

"So, the night is still young, where do you guys want to go? Piz won't get off for hours, plus I think he's going to party with Desmond and his posse for while." Parker said.

"Cho's," Veronica called out as Mac shouted "Java." They laughed and then looked at Parker as the tie breaker.

"Cho's. I'm starving. Sorry Mac, we'll do Java another time."

"That's fine vy me. I can always be talked into pizza," Mac acquiesced.

They made their way toward Veronica's SUV parked on the other side of campus. They piled in and traced their way through Neptune as Parker filled them in on useless Desmond Fellows trivia. Evidently he and Piz had been email buddies for the past year. She also shared some background on how the song "State of Grace." Veronica shared her own memories of meeting Desmond the previous year and interviewing Grace for the case of the missing backup tapes.

Once at Cho's they were immediately shown to a table. They just made it though because less than 5 minutes later throngs of people rushed through the door, several of them sporting new_** Desmond Rocks**_ shirts. Of course being that it was after midnight there weren't many restaurants open in Neptune that time of the night.

After placing their order with the harried waitress, the three friends continued their review of the show.

"I really liked "Hack," it was real catchy," Veronica shared.

"Did you hear that asshole yelling behind me though?" Mac asked.

"No."

"People can be so rude," Mac continued. "Some music critic wannabe was complaining about how it didn't have a bridge. Even though it may be true, it was still a catchy song."

"True. I liked "State of Grace" better though," Parker admitted. "So romantic. I liked the element of fate in there."

Mac debated whether to say anything. Then she admitted, "it's hitting a little too close to home right now for me. I was trying to get away from thoughts of Dick, and then it smacks me in the face once again."

"I told her this morning her problem is she thinks too much," Parker confessed to Veronica. They exchanged knowing looks.

"That's very true. Our Mac-a-pedia does live a little too much in that big brain of hers," Veronica agreed, "however, Dick did stand her up last night. He's not acting himself lately. Normally I'd think that would be an improvement though, but this is not a step in the right direction."

"Shall I leave?" Mac asked, cutting into the conversation. "It might be easier to talk about me if I were at another location. Those girls over there look lonely." She nodded her head in the direction of 2 girls about their age three tables down. The redhead looked vaguely familiar but Mac couldn't place where she had seen her. The brunette was wearing a blue shirt with what looked like Greek lettering on it.

"Okay, sounds good," Veronica said, calling Mac's bluff. "Go join them. Parker and I will come get you when we have your life figured out for you."

"Well, her relationship, at least," Parker clarified.

The conversation was interrupted though by the arrival of the pizzas—a large mushroom and sausage for Veronica and Parker, and a small veggie special no cheese for Mac.

As they ate talk turned to summer plans and how quickly their sophomore year was winding down. Mac was reaching over to put another slice of pizza on her plate when she happened to glance up at the table of girls who had caught her eye earlier. The redhead was looking at her with narrowed eyes. It was weird. She looked straight back at her, not backing down.

Finally the girl in question looked away and Mac promptly dismissed it as her habit of reading too much into minor things. People had been reminding her of that tendency all day long, there must be some merit in that.

Everyone finished their food and paid, then Veronica dropped them back at their apartment.

"Thanks for the ride," Mac and Parker both shouted as they climbed out of the Saturn. Veronica waved and then drove away.

Once back in their apartment both girls decided to turn in early. Mac thanked Parker for the ticket and then they said goodnight and headed off to their respective rooms.

As Mac was placing her cell phone on her bedside table she happened to glance down and see she had one message. Scrolling to the right screen, she clicked on the message. She recognized Dick's number.

**Sweet dreams. Fun party. Hope Concert was fun. C U L8TER. Love D**

She didn't remember the phone ringing, it must have been sent while they were still at the concert. Maybe she was reading too much into things after all. She hoped that was the case, at least. She wanted to believe the good night text was a good sign that things weren't as bad as she'd first feared. With that thought circling her subconscious Mac fell into a deep sleep.

**TBC... **

**A/N: I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? M'eh? I want to know. Thank you!**


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